Catboy's Quest
by Dapple-ishh
Summary: Three Animal Totems comes from a nearby town seeking for the help of Catboy, so he could train their little kids to become PJ Masks. Catboy agrees and eventually endures a journey to find them, though still bleeding from his own battles wounds.
1. Prologue

_**Authors note at the end of the chapter, important if you are reading and waiting for Stitches.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: PJ Masks doesn't belong to me. I only own my OCs.**_

* * *

The moon shone brightly over the roofs of the buildings. A chilly breeze was blowing and carrying some leaf with it. All that could be heard were only the sounds of the trees on the street and some snores here and there. Three figures, one big and two smalls, were jumping from building to building. Their shiny paws barely made a sound, no one saw them. Besides the moonlight, their sparkly bodies made the roofs shine more brightly, and their paws left a trail of little starry sparks.

"Where is he? How much are we gonna run?" The smaller one, a light orange Bandicoot, said, panting kinda hard. Suddenly they all stopped, as they spotted a starry blue figure standing on a higher roof, looking at the moon. "I guess no more." The little Bandicoot felt teeth around his scruff, and his other companion, a little silver Chinchilla, was by his side, as their bigger companion carried them to where the other figure was. The bigger one, a shiny yellow Caracal, made a high jump, and in the matter of a second, they were standing behind the starry blue figure.

The shiny yellow Caracal put her companions down. She sat. "We are here. It's been time." The starry blue figure, with his tail curled up on his front paws, turned around to see them. He stands up and walks to them. He bowed his head to the Caracal, the Bandicoot, and the Chinchilla.

"It surely has been time. Why did you want to see me?" The starry cat said, worried, but without losing his elegant posture. He sat in front of them. "I'm far away from my child, and in this times, he really needs me. I made a risky decision coming here, Black Tuft." He stated to the Caracal.

Black Tuft rolled her eyes and twitched her tail annoyingly. With her chest puffed out, she said. "You are not the only one leaving his child behind, Lightning Fur. We left ours alone too. And that's why we are here." She finished, looking at Lightning Fur. Lightning Fur tilted his head with an ear down, curious and confused. The little Bandicoot and the little Chinchilla looked at Black Tufr too, they argued on coming without knowing the reason, but they agreed at the end.

"What do you mean?" Lightning Fur voiced all of their thoughts.

"Yeah, what do you mean Black Tuft?" The silver Chinchilla said. Lightning Fur looked at her surprised, didn't they know why the Caracal brought them here too? He approached the Chinchilla. "You don't know, Cotton Tail?" Cotton Tail shook her head. "?" Orange Stripe shook his head and for a second look at him, then at Black Tuft.

Black Tuft sighed. "I want your kid to train our kids to become PJ Masks." Cotton Tail, Orange Stripe, and Lightning Fur all gasped in shock. They all knew that being a PJ Masks took a lot of effort and power, also sacrifices. Lightning Fur thought that she couldn't be more serious. His kid became a hero because, at that time, they were in a hurry, also it was an accident. But he couldn't deny that it wasn't a good one. She couldn't just ask for a risk like this one as if it were nothing.

Lightning Fur twitched his tail angrily and snarled. "You know that it takes more than just a question, Black Tuft." The Caracal started pacing nervously, sometimes muttering things to herself, or looking somewhat angry and sad. Her pelt started to fluff, and she shook herself to take it away. She desperately looked at Lightning Fur. Standing nose to nose with him she said:

"I know, and I'll take anything that is needed for my child's safety, I know that you would do the same if it was you standing in my paws." The Cat looked away, still twitching his tail and with ears flattened. She was right, he would do anything for his kid, even take great risks. He already lost six lives saving others kids of his, a long time ago, when the Animal Totems were barely a thing around. He sat, frustrated. Why did she want his kid to train hers? Couldn't she do it herself? He didn't spend the time with his kid teaching everything he could for her to come and ask it as if it was nothing.

She knew very well that a kid that is gonna be a PJ Mask (or whatever they decide to call their team) should be trained by their animal totem to create a special bond with them. She not only was asking for _his_ kid's help, but she was also doing the exact opposite of an Animal Totem and their kid. But at the same time, he couldn't stop thinking about his kid. Right now he was a terrible feeling mess, and he needed help. Maybe their kids were in a similar situation. An idea popped into his mind.

Lightning Fur stood up and faced Black Tuft. "Do you think they are gonna be able to do it? Because this is a great risk you are taking."

Black Tuft answered, nodding hard. "Of course I think so, they are energetic and they are always positive about things. Also, they lack family, so having someone older than them would make them see your kid as a big brother. And maybe the other way around too." That was it, Lightning Fur's idea might work. Maybe if his kid spent time with their kids, he would be less sad than he is right now and if he convinced Owlette and Gekko about it, maybe all of their problems would be resolved. Maybe these kids were the answer for all of their problems. And for the happiness of his kid.

He looked at Orange Stripe and Cotton Tail, they have been quiet for a long time "What about you two? You agree with this?"

Orange Stripe and Cotton Tail nodded. "If it is for my little girl, then I'm more willing to do it than the fiercest lion." Orange Stripe nodded in agreement.

He sighed and then nodded. "Very well, but you must introduce yourself to your kids first, meanwhile that, I'll be talking to my kid about it, and maybe bring other friends too. They may help." _Both your kids and mine._ Lightning Fur thought.

Black Tuft nodded solemnly. "Very well. Thanks, Lightning Fur, will pay you back for this one." All said, she dashed off with the Bandicoot and the Chinchilla clinging from her teeth as she carried them by their scruff.

Lightning Fur watched them go. He went for a fast run on the opposite side from where the other three went. _This is gonna help him and the others_. Lightning Fur though.

 _Yeah, this is gonna help Connor._

* * *

 _ **A/N: I know what you are thinking. "Why publish another story when you have one unfinished?" Well, the thing is, Stitches is gonna be on hiatus. I want to finish all my main story before moving onto side stories or AUs. Besides, the computer where I had the three following chapters broke, and they were all pretty long; so I'm not in the mood to re-write them, it takes a lot of time and I barely have time to do my own personal stuff. So I hope you understand that.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading this far and don't forget to comment! Critiques are always appreciated.**_


	2. Chapter 1: Sweet Dreams, Connor

**_Disclaimer: I don't own anything besides my OCs._**

* * *

 ** _"Traitor..." Anger in his eyes._**

 _The boy kept running through the halls of the empty and dark school. Shoving the doors open, he burst out into the city and headed to the giant Totem Pole in the middle of the park. His tail trailing behind him twitched with every step he made. The air on his lungs seemed to decrease as he goes farther and farther away from the school. All black silhouettes around him. It's cold outside, so cold and foggy, which make it difficult to run through. The eclipse was just about start above him, and with every step, it seemed that the moon covered herself with black shadow. Like a huge **Black Spot.**_

 ** _"You don't deserve to be called a leader..." A disgusted tone in his words._**

 _The ice under his paws makes_ him _trip and his face shot the cold ice as if it was stone. But it wasn't hurting. His now all damage face didn't hurt. His chest did. It burns, it burns so badly, but it wasn't like fire, it felt like ice, sharp ice. He clenched his teeth, and standing up, he ignored the feeling and kept running._

 ** _"You... betrayed... ME!" Anger and sadness growing inside him._**

 _Stepping into the park, he focused on the totem, without noticing the grass transforming into icy spikes. He realized it when he stepped in one of them. Looking at them, and then at the totem, he observed the stone path. It isn't dangerous, it is clear. Clear for him to make a safe run, even if that means running between the waves of rushing black water beside him, which of course were hitting the pole violently, making it balance as if it is gonna fall at any moment. He was so close to it. Taking braveness, he made a run for it._

 ** _"By siding with her, you betrayed us..." She sobbed softly, unbelieving everything she heard._**

 _Once close, he rounded the Totem Pole, waiting to see the entrance to it. And as expected, it was there. The black waves splash him vigorously as he runs, and he almost loses his balance. He got to the door, and putting his hand on the pad beside it, he waited for the door to open. The circle of the eclipse above him, dark and ominous, started to shine of a lavender tone as he made his way inside the Totem Pole. The pool in the green room was a whirlpool. He ignored it as he hops into the elevator. The blue and red room disappeared as he went up. He got to the top of the totem. Six figures standing there. The Gecko, the Owl, the Arctic Fox, the Fox-Wolf, the Badger. The moon was now a **Black Spot.** He swallowed. They were staring at him, hurt and angrily. The boy with the black hair was smiling. The Gecko -No, not the gecko.- Gekko started to walk to him, each time faster until he was face to face with him. He hissed on his face._

 _"I TRUSTED YOU!" Gekko pushed him backward. His heart beating faster in his chest, he is gonna fall from the Totem Pole!_

 _Suddenly someone caught him."Don't worry, Catboy..." With chills running on his spine, he turned, expecting to see that evil smile that he feared and hated so much. His heart sank as he saw those lavender and violet eyes, sharply staring at him through the white and black mask. **"I got you."**_

* * *

Connor shot up awake with a screech of terror. He looked terrified around the room, dark and blue. He searched for his night-light and turned it on. With the hand on the interrupter, he looked around the room again. He was panting but slowly calmed down. Soft scratches filled the quietness of the room. Standing up, Connor walked over to the door and opened it, letting his cat Titina get inside. She started to rub against his legs, meowing softly and caring. Making a sad smile, he bends over to lift her up. Purring, Titina rubbed her face against Connor's, and he chuckled.

He made his way back into the bed with Titina in his arms. When he adjusted himself in, the cat instantly curled on his back and brought him a warm spot on it. Though he couldn't sleep yet, the nightmare shook him badly. Looking into his door, he wondered where was his animal totem. Usually, the blue tabby cat would chase his nightmares away. But tonight the blue tabby wasn't there. He sighed. Maybe tomorrow (or rather today as it was 4 AM in the morning) he could talk with him in his sleep to find out what happened.

Staying awake until 5 AM, he finally decided to go to sleep, as he soon would have to go to school.

* * *

His alarm woke him up at 7:30 AM, indicating that in thirty minutes more he'll have to head up to school. He complained to himself before standing up. Grabbing the clothes for school and a towel, he headed to the bathroom to take a shower. He wanted a cold one as it was hot outside. He closed the door of the bathroom and checked if he had everything he needed. When he couldn't find his underwear, he sighed. Before leaving the bathroom, he heard scratches on the door. Opening it, he saw that Titina, standing there, had with her his underwear on her mouth; he was too amused and somewhat embarrassed by the situation. Titina entered inside and left his underwear besides his clothes. She looked at Connor once more and left the bathroom. Connor giggled. "Thanks..." That done, he closed the door and opened the water to measure it so he would know when it would be ready. When it was, he removed his clothes and entered the shower, staying there for fifteen minutes.

Once finished, he went downstairs wearing a simple light blue shirt with black jeans and black shoes. Stepping into the kitchen, he looked at his mother finishing serving his breakfast. Connor's mom, Katrina, was a pretty and big woman, with slight muscles on her biceps. Her straight light brown hair matched her fairly long, yet rounded face, which was accompanied by shiny teal-green eyes and golden skin.

When she saw him, she smiled and greeted him. "Good morning, Sweetheart. How did you sleep last night?" Connor only sighed, remembering the nightmare that woke him up. Looking her into the eyes, he answered.

"Fine, just a little issue with a nightmare, but nothing terrible." There he was, lying again for the fifth time this week. At least he thought it was the fifth time. He's been doing it since he split apart from his team, or the team, as it isn't his team anymore. No, he didn't deserve to be called part of the team either. But also he felt like he should be called that. He was confused.

"A nightmare? Mmm, you are having them often, don't ya?" He nodded and his mother shook her head. "Maybe you are deprived of sleep, Sacha. You'll need to start going to sleep early." She scolded him. He grimaced and let out a small apology. The breakfast in front of him, which consisted of yogurt, the half of a peach, a baguette with jam and coffee, looked delicious, and realizing how hungry he was, he grabbed the peach first and eat it. Connor rested his left arm on the tablet, with the hand on his face and the elbow on the table.

"Sacha, the arm." Katrina scolded him. He moved his arm where it was before, and keep eating his breakfast. "I'm still wondering how you got that scar on your face. It's pretty deep."

Connor looked up at his mother and answered. "I told you, I fell from a tree playing with Amaya and Greg." He paused and asked her again. "And what about that question anyway? It's been on my face for almost five years!" The scar that his mother pointed out was on the left side of his face, and started on the cheek and ended in the jaw. He was twelve years old when he got it. Gekko -at that moment Drakko- gave him the scar when fighting with him, he was pretty close to hurt the throat and that scared him to the death. He went back to eat his breakfast. Then looked up once more, suspicious. "You are rather chatty today, mom." He narrowed his eyes when his mother fidgeted on her seat. "Is there something you wanna tell me?"

Taking a deep breath, she answered. "Remember the other day when I was making a fuss about your father not giving us the part from his money that corresponds you?" He nodded cautiously. "Well, I got to talk to him yesterday when you were at work and he stubbornly agreed to give us the money. But, today I don't come back until night... So I thought that maybe..." She looked to her side grimacing.

"Maybe...?" He didn't get until his mother looked at him guiltily. "No... _**NO!**_ Don't you even _think_ about it!" He yells at her.

"Is only receiving the money from him, and he'll left! How hard is to do that Sacha?" She looked angry but at the same time guilty.

"How **_HARD? REALLY?_** He tried to kick me **_OUT_** of the house! For my cat's whiskers... he even threatened me!" He felt some tears form in his eyes, but he swiped them away with his forearm. "How blind are you to see that it hurts me to be near him? I think about him and I shiver. Sometimes I dream about what could've happened if Daniel and Alexander wouldn't have interfered at the right moment..."

Katrina was stuck in place. Connor looked at her angrily. "But of course you don't get it, after all, you are still mooning over him." Katrina stared helplessly. He swiped away more tears and said. "I have to go, it's late..." Grabbing his keys, headphones, cellphone, and backpack, he left the house. He rode his bike to the school so he wouldn't have to take the bus. He usually likes to listen to some music on his way to school, it makes him feel a lot better.

While waiting for the light to change, a hand touched his shoulder. "Hi, Connor!" It was Cameron.

"Hey, Cameron!"

A girl with light brown short hair, pale skin, and light green eyes arrived beside Cameron on a pink and yellow bike with a smile. "Hey there, Selina." Connor greeted Cameron's sister with a slight smile.

"Heading to school, responsible adult?" Cameron joked. Since his classmates found out he was working at the great 'Tarabiscoville Cinèma' on weekends, they started joking about him being the "adult" of the class. Not like they did it in a mean way, actually, he got along with his classmates pretty good. After being with the same people ten years, you end up knowing them, sometimes -and this was his case- you even end up liking them too.

"Very funny, Cameron. Yes, I'm heading there. What about you? Your house is on the opposite side of this side of the city, what are you doing here?" He asked. He already knows Cameron's house, he's been there several times, mostly thanks to group projects for school, or just to hang out with Selina.

Selina answered. "I bought some art supplies on the Internet and I needed to go for them. Cameron told me that we could head to school after getting them, and that's what we are doing! Wanna tag along?" Connor smiled. Selina is always this heart-lighted, always with open arms for others. She was the one the class loved the most. She is innocent and cheerful so everyone gets attached to her in their very own way.

"Sure thing! Also, what kind of art supplies you bought?" He was curious. It was no secret that he enjoyed doing art or music. Selina put her bag on her chest and open it, revealing a fancy colored box. Grabbing the box, she opened it and inside were two little boxes with different colors of paint and some brushes.

"Watercolors! Do you know how to use them? 'cause, for my cat's whiskers! They were hard to learn to use." He exclaimed.

Selina answered. "Uh... No, I don't know how to use watercolors." They both laughed.

Cameron snorted. "I don't even know how to use regular paint, so what are you complaining about?" Selina and Connor laughed while looking at Cameron. They spent the next minutes heading their bikes to school, and talking about art or ranting some when all of them would stop on a light; Also with Cameron asking about what was what at the same time. Connor was glad at this, for the first time in a month, he was enjoying his day. That is until Cameron asked:

"Anyway, what's up with you and your friends? Greg, to be precise. Your last encounter wasn't quite... friendly." Connor looked away, the pain started to be more strong now. He sighed, suddenly the hours he lost last night felt heavy in his eyes and body. He feels tired.

Selina punched Cameron in the arm. "That's none of your business, Cameron!" Looking at Connor, who now was looking straight forward with a tired expression, she said. "Sorry about that Connor, my brother over here can be a gossipy sometimes." She looked at Cameron wildly, and Cameron fidgeted. "Apologise."

"Sorry, Connor." That's all that Cameron said while entering the school. Connor heard how Selina was scolding Cameron in a lower tone, while Cameron was trying to defend himself helplessly.

Connor said goodbye to them, as they were in a different class than him. He felt so tired right now but didn't know if it was because of the lack of sleep from last night, or because of personal reasons. Maybe a bit of both. Walking to his classroom, which was at the end of the hall for his misfortune, he lowered his head. Since his 'little fight' a week ago, everyone stared at him and whispered things about him or Greg.

He hated the feeling of being observed and judge. And as expected, everyone did so. Connor ignored it.

Inside of the classroom, Connor sat in his usual spot. In the middle, the second desk. He sat there and listened to music for about 20 minutes, with his arms around his head, lying on the desk.

He looked up after feeling a soft touch on the arm and was greeted with Federico smiling at him. The boy beside Federico, Riley, didn't even bother looking behind and Connor was left feeling a little bit more tired than before. He let himself be consumed by Federico's happiness.

"Hey Fede, how's your day going?" He greeted.

Federico rolled his eyes and laughed. "Good, nothing really interesting happened." Looking at Connor with a softer smile, he asked. "How's _your_ day doing?"

The pink-eyed boy had a hand on his left cheek and the fingers of the others were making playfully songs against the desk. Connor didn't want to answer that, not with Riley in front of him. He knew that pretty much that his teammates (not calling them friends because he didn't even know if they considered him that at all now) were upset with him. He shuddered "Fine I guess." Federico grimaced but didn't question any further.

"Do you wanna come home after school? My mom's making her famous 'empanadas'. She knows you like them, so she told me that if you wanna come over," He stared intensely into Connor's eyes, and as if remarking something, he said: "then you are very welcome in our house."

"Thanks... but I gotta wait for my fa- a friend of my mom to come over... Next time maybe..." Was all that Connor said. He was praying that Federico didn't catch the slip-up. And as expected, he didn't.

Federico nodded again. Smiling brightly, he says. "You know... this morning when I walked in, I saw Cameron and Selina, and it was so funny! She was scolding Cameron for something, and he was all red! I wonder why she was scolding him... well, none of my business!" He said cheerfully.

Connor laughed. "For my cat's whiskers, that should it been awful." He said with a smile. Suddenly Connor was grateful for Federico's company and bright spirit. He remembered the first time he met him, he was so shy! But after a year of being with him, he knew that this boy hides more than anyone could think. Federico was about to say something else, but Riley's voice rose above his.

"Federico, I don't know if you have clear that we _should not_ talk to," His voice adapted a disgusted tone. "- ** _traitors._** Sit straight."

Federico looked back at Riley with a mischievous smile. "I don't think I can do that." Riley glared at him and Federico smiled nervously. Looking at Connor, he apologized and then turned around.

Connor sighed and put on his headphones until the professor came in. _**The next 8 hours were horribly boring.**_

It was 16:45 in the afternoon, and all tired, Connor was making his way back home, his day went from good to horrible in such small moments. It went worse when he saw his 'friends' (except for Federico) laughing and making their way to a new coffee shop in front of the school. They all promised to go together someday, and now it was happening, but he wasn't included; the urges to cry at that moment were incredibly strong.

Turning at the end of his street, he saw his blue roofed house, and sighed; Finally, he could get home and rest, maybe cry, but mostly rest. He approaches the door of his house with the keys on hand, and once the door was open, he entered. School hours were the worst; he's been enjoying being home rather outside lately.

He was hungry, he didn't get lunch today at school; he didn't like the food the cafeteria offered, and he didn't have money with him today. On the kitchen, Connor got from the refrigerator a soup made of vegetables and chicken. Puting it on the microwave for 5 minutes, he made his way to the couch and sat there to wait. The TV was on, so he figured out that his mother also went late to work; typical of her, let the TV on when getting late somewhere.

When his brother Fidelitè lived with them, he would kindly turn it off for her (or him, if he ever let it on). But now that he is expecting his first baby with Nina (his wife, who also happens to be Greg's older sister) he moved out, and no one turns the TV off or puts things in their rightful places anymore.

The sound of the microwave snapped him out of his thoughts, and standing up, he walked into the kitchen to get his food. He set all on the table and was ready to eat, but before he could taste the soup, the doorbell rang. "Coming!" He shouts.

He stood up and walked to the door, he looked through the peephole, and as soon as he did, his heart started to beat hard and fast. He bit his lip, and for a small moment he thought of not opening the door, but his yell a few minutes ago gave his cover away; He took a deep breath and opened the door slowly.

There he was. An old big man, with darker skin, blue eyes and really short hair was standing there. He wore an orange sweater with a cream shirt underneath, khaki pants and long black shoes. He looked down at Connor, who was a head shorter. He grimaced with disgust. "You are still here?"

Connor snorted. "Of course I'm here, where else could I be?" He was trying not to cause a disaster, because this time, he really didn't have any backup. But at the same time, he wanted to punch the face of the man in front of him. "So? Don't you have anything for me?" Connor asked sarcastically.

"For you? Never. I have something for your mother, where is she?" He answered, trying to look inside searching for her. Connor closed the door a little bit more so the insides couldn't be seen.

"She is not here. She told me to receive it for her. If it was for me, I would have left you outside, _Dad._ " Connor snapped back.

"Don't address me like that, faggot!" Connor's father yell. Both were now looking at each other enraged. Connor wanted to punch him so hard; he hated getting into fights, but he could easily punch his father -if he can be called that- in the face. Six years ago, when Connor was 11, he came out as gay to his family; his mother and brother took it fine, but his father was another story. He started yelling at Connor enraged, telling him how much of a lost cause he was, he even tried to kick Connor out of his house. That day all the neighborhood heard it and watched it. Daniel (Greg's father) and Alexander (Amaya's father) stopped the man before he could go any further. Katrina has chosen Connor over Harold, and before he left, he told Connor that he wasn't his son.

"Yeah, I won't. No one would. You don't deserve it." Harold grunted and grabbed Connor's wrist forcibly.

"Wha-!" Connor scratched Harold's arm trying to get free, but when he couldn't, he desperately punched the man in the face with fear. Now free, Connor went inside as fast as he could, and before his father could do another move, he closed the door. A loud punch came after he closed it, and the man outside shout to him:

"You'll see! You won't get away with this!" Connor had his back against the door and was sobbing really hard. He knew that was a bad idea, he did it anyway; why did he do it?

Titina came from upstairs to his side and rubbed herself against him. When the man shouts outside again, she hissed and curled in Connor's legs. Connor stood there a few minutes and later went upstairs to rest. The hunger from before vanished.

 _ **2 Hours Later...**_

Connor was lying on his bed looking dead straight to the blue wall of his room. Titina was sitting on his back, stretching her claws on his shirt. waiting for Connor to make a move. When he did none, she proceeded to bite his ear. Connor shook his head and rolled, throwing Titina instantly to the ground. When she made a huge noise of impact, Connor sat up straight and picked her up, petting her where she hit. He looked out the window, it was already night; his mother would be arriving soon. He clenched his teeth. She was the last person he wanted to see!

When Titina purred, he looked down with a smile. "You like that, huh?" His smile became a sad one. "At least there's someone who still wants to be with me." When he said that, Titina licked his cheek and purred again.

He stood up and left Titina on the bed, and opened his wardrobe to grab his pajamas. He was really tired after today, and the only thing he was desiring was sleeping. He was glad that tomorrow started Spring Holidays, so he had two weeks to rest and do nothing for once, besides working at the weekends.

Once he found them, he changed clothes and jumped on the bed, enjoying the softness of his pajamas and the coolness of his bed. He didn't last awake for too long after he rested his head on the pillow. He let himself be consumed by sleep.

* * *

 _He woke up in a place filled with white and dark blue sparks floating around the place. He sighed, he knew this place; He started looking for the tabby blue cat, he owed him some explanations. He was still angry, his animal totem left him when he needed him the most! "Lightning Fur! Show yourself! I know you are watching me!"_

 _"I'm behind you, Connor." The voice, as said, came from behind him. Connor spun around and saw that Lightning Fur was sitting on a huge piece of glowing crystal. "Do you need something?"_

 _Connor snorted. "No, actually, I was looking for you only to tell you that I don't need you. Of_ course _, I need you! Where have you been? I had a horrible nightmare last night, I couldn't sleep well!" The cat stood there emotionless a few minutes before saying:_

 _"I have a mission for you." He was about to tell Connor what the mission was about, but Connor interrupted him._

 _"Just ignore me! Come on, I asked you something! You were the one who taught me to answer questions when asked. Now apply it to yourself." Connor crossed arms and sat, waiting for a response._

 _Lightning Fur twitched his tail annoyed and sighed. "I went to an important meeting that I was gonna tell you about it in a moment, but If you could only shut your mouth, you would've known. I already told you that interrupting someone when is speaking is impolite. Also, a little advice: Don't question people further if they don't want to tell you anything else, is rude, and you might upset the other person. They have their reasons, it's their decision what to tell you and what not. Now, let me finish."_

 _Connor hated when Lightning scolded him. But sometimes it was for the best. After all, that was what animal totems were for, right? To guide and_ advise _you, even if you don't like what they are telling you. Connor nodded and let Lightning Fur finish._

 _Lightning Fur straightened up. "What I was saying. Last night, when you were sleeping, I sensed a call for help from other three animal totems from a nearby town. They said that their kids needed help, that they were totally helpless. They wanted us to help them, and at first, I didn't agree to it because this town where they live in is known for being one of the most_ dangerous _out there. And besides, it's far away from here, not too much, but it is."_

 _Connor listened carefully. He had a feeling about what Lightning Fur was gonna say next._

 _"But they didn't want my help. They wanted_ yours, t _hey wanted you to help them, to train them as PJ Masks. They want their kids to be safe and to know when danger is near, and to take care of themselves. Also, they believe that if you help them, it'll be good for both of you. And after I thought about it, I agreed with them. I believe that if you go, you'll be better than staying here."_

 _Connor was surprised by this 'new' mission. "My help? Couldn't they do it themselves?"_

 _"They can. But they need your help as a backup. You have learned a lot since you became a PJ Mask, they want you to pass down that knowledge of yours to them, after that you can return home."_

 _"My knowledge? How does my knowledge matches the knowledge of a thousand years old spirit animals?"_

 _Lightning Fur snorted. "It doesn't. You know_ how _to sense fear, how to sense_ danger _. And you_ are _a human being. The animal totems only stay in dreams, only great events get us out of the dream realm. They can teach them in their dreams, but they can't help them when it comes to applying it in the real world. That's what they need you for. To tell them when to do it, how to apply it. Also, if they are becoming PJ Masks, they need to learn how to use their powers. One small mistake, and they could be easily thorned into pieces. Or something even worse. They need you, they need your help. Will you go?"_

 _Connor stood silence for a few minutes thinking. Travel to an unknown nearby town to help strange kids he never met before so they could be safer? What if he wasn't able to help them? This mission could easily blow out his identity as a superhero. If it comes to travel as a superhero, then that means that he'll have to do it in secret, and if he does it in secret, his mother will be surely worried._

 _This mission surely is probably gonna take more than a few days. It wasn't like going to the moon, where he would spend three days traveling. No. Training someone takes time, and train superpowered children will probably take more than a week. There were many questions that needed answers, but these kids were also helpless without him. Was he really going to let them down? Also, were those animal totems right? Was this journey going to be beneficial for him too? He wanted to risk it if that was also the case. He wanted to do it if there was a small chance to stop how he was feeling now._

 _"I'll do it. I'll help them."_ And myself. _Connor thought._

 _Lightning Fur seemed surprised. "For a moment I thought you were gonna refuse."_

 _Connor shook his head. "No, they are children, aren't they? No child ever needs to be neglected. When do I start? And where I'm heading to?" He asked. He didn't have any idea where he had to go, yet, he agreed to it._

 _Lightning Fur stood up, and looking right inside of Connor's eyes, he answered. "The town you are going to is called Millennia Town. This place is known for its commercial mechanism and because too many known people live there, such as Jaiden Huston. But it's also known as a great place for robbery and contraband, also it has high levels of poverty. Be careful, many of the greatest mafia members reside there. I don't want you dead on your first day there." Connor shivered a little bit at the thought. Lightning Fur proceed. "You have to start heading up there tomorrow night. The sooner the better."_

 _Connor nodded but questioned. "How do I know who are the kids I need to train?"_

 _"They are special, you'll see. You will know who they are as soon as you speak to them." Lightning Fur said. Connor_ nodded _and was ready to leave until he noticed Lightning Fur curling his tail around his paws._

 _"What else do you have to tell me?"_

 _Lightning Fur looked at him, emotionless. "You have to take the rest of the team with you. That means speaking with Greg and Amaya."_

 _Connor clenched his teeth. "No! I'm not speaking to them, only bad things happen when I do. There's no way I'm talking to them. I'm sick of being hurt, I want to be fine for once!" Lightning Fur seemed surprised at his outburst._

 _"Connor, I'm not asking you, I'm **ordering** you. I know you don't like it, but you have to do it. If something happens to you, then no one would ever find out. You'll be safer with them by your side." He said._

 _Connor grunted. "Because I've been safer by their side lately..."_

 _"Enough!" Lightning Fur's yell rose on the whole place, and Connor stood up straight. "You are gonna do as I say. If I say that's the best choice, then it is! Tomorrow you'll go to their houses, and you'll ask them, whether you like or not! No further question. Have I made myself clear?" Connor nodded angrily. "Good. Now, sweet dreams, Connor."_

 ** _"Sweet dreams, Lightning Fur."_**


	3. Chapter 2: Not needed

**Hey! Sorry for the delay. Got busy with school.**

 **Guest: Thank you and I'm glad you like this! Let's see what they see in this chapter though.**

 **Bouken Dutch 2.0: Actually he is 16, I just miscalculated. And about his name, I have that covered up already. And thank you.**

 **Gracekim20: Thank you!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own PJ Masks, I only own my OCs and the concept** **of** **this story.**

* * *

 _Chapter 2: Not needed._

The next day, Connor wakes up rested and relaxed. There were no nightmares last night, and he had an awesome dream where he was playing with a whole litter of kittens, to be specific, his cat's last litter. He misses those kittens, yet still, he is glad that they aren't with him anymore; Those kittens were annoyingly loud, his sleep was disturbed. Remembering that Spring Holidays started today, he was about to take another nap, but his dream with Catboy last night came as first thought. He grumbled. He didn't want to talk to them, it would be pitiful and somewhat shameful. He knows it.

He has his doubts about this mission too. Is he gonna be able to do it alone if the others don't go with him? Is he gonna be able to recognize this so special kids? How was he suppose to give them their powers? Lots and lots of doubts came each minute; he never did a mission alone! Not a single one! What if he failed? Or if he wasn't good enough? Or let those kids down? Worst of all, let Catboy down?

Fast as he could, he stretched his arm and grabbed the glass of water that was in his night-stand and throw it right at his face. Sitting up straight, he shook his head and cleared his mind. He was gonna do it and prove everyone that he was a great leader, he was gonna prove them all that he is capable of being a hero again.

Connor stood up from his bed and changed clothes to a soft white shirt with some blue and black jeans, with his usual blue converse shoes. He made his way out of his room, downstairs, with soft trots following behind him; he guessed that Titina was following him. He yawns and going downstairs, he smelled the sweet scent of toasts and peaches. His belly grumbled, but his stubbornness wouldn't let him be anywhere near his mother. He was still kind of upset with her because of what happened with his father. Yet still, it's not her fault that he is a prick, and if she had been on his side, who knows where he would be right now. He sighed.

"Dear, is that you?" His mother voice came from the kitchen. Without any option left, he walked in. He breathed a 'good morning' and sat on his side of the table, Titina took the seat right next to him. He was wondering how to talk to Greg and Amaya while playing on the table rhythmically songs with the tip of his fingers. One thing that he was certain of, is that they won't be pleased to see him, especially not Greg.

But again, he wasn't certain of how to approach them. Should he text them? No. He would look like a coward, and he certainly wasn't a coward. Should he talk to their parents? No, they'll probably tell them to ignore him kindly. Should he go to their houses? Probably, but there was a chance of being left outside. So how? How should he approach them when every possibility had a negative side? He grumbled and planted his face on the table. Why was it so complicated? He never meant to do what he has done!

He wasn't even sure how it happened!

"Why are people so complicated?" He complained. His mother looked back at him with an eyebrow raised. He looked at her but parted away with an exhausted expression. His left ear caught the sound of steps and shortly after the sound of a dish being left to his side. He smelled coffee, toasts and the wonderful smell of peach jelly. That smell brought back to his memories when he was younger, those were sweet memories that now made him nostalgic.

"Is it because of your father that you are saying that?" His mother asked.

Rolling his eyes, he looked back at her once more. "Yes and no." She sighed and sat next to his side. She grabbed his hand and started to caress it smiling sweetly.

"I remember when you were younger, any time you'll ever have a problem you'll come running straight to me to tell me what was happening." Connor looked at her intrigued."Even when some of those problems were caused by you." Connor thought about that for a second and was ready to give a sharp response, but his mother won him. "If you could let this angsty teenager that I call 'son' aside for just one second and tell me what's happening, maybe I could help you, Sacha."

He sat straight and took the cup of coffee. Then he said to his mother: "I think I messed up."

"With what, dear?"

"My friends? Greg and Amaya... I... let Amaya down and I- How did he say?- betrayed Greg." He sighed, hurt at the vivid memory. "I haven't been talking to them for a month now, none of them." His mother was about to replay something until he clarified. "Except for Federico. He is the only one that is not mad at me." He sighed once more and laid on the back of the chair. "I even had a fight with Greg last week at school... like, a real fight; with punches and all that stuff."

His mother was surprised at that last statement as if she didn't believe that he had a fight with Greg. "A fight, Sacha? We talked about that kind of stuff, dear... That's not good."

Connor looked somewhat guilty yet mad. "I know... it's just, he really touched a nerve, and I got so mad that I couldn't resist, Federico had to pull me back so I couldn't go any further."

Katrina looked at him intently. "If he touched a nerve and you got mad, then what nerve did _you_ touched that he started disliking you?"

Connor thought about that as if it was a realization. He was aware that he made harm, but he never thought that he touched a nerve. Was Luna Girl Greg's nerve and that's why he got so mad? Or was it something else? He tried not to think too much about it or else he'll have something else to worry about during his journey. He opened his eyes wide.

The journey. He forgot!

Katrina was still there waiting for an answer. Connor looked at her and didn't how to explain that it was partly his fault that a moon girl villain stopped being the girlfriend of his best friend because he -without intention- helped another villain to hurt them. Connor ignored her gaze and changed the subject of the conversation. "Mom, would you mind me staying with grandma on vacations? I really don't want to be here now."

Katrina looked disappointed that her son didn't tell her what was going on, but answered anyway. "Of course dear, let me call her and-"

"No!" Katrina looked confused at him. "I-I mean, I already called her, she just told me to ask you and that it would be okay for me to go..." He hoped that his mother bought that. She looked at him but agreed on the end.

"Very well. But be careful, there are lots of dangerous animals around her land. I don't want you to get hurt. Don't wander alone, okay?" He nodded. He knew his mother trusted him. But if she only knew that he wanders alone almost every night since he was 6, she would be terrified.

His cellphone's screen illuminated, advising him that he got texts. He grabbed it and swiped up his lock screen and read: "7 texts from Fede:D". He read them:

 _[15/4 09:43 AM] ~Fede:D: Hey you there?_

 _[15/4 09:43 AM] ~Fede:D: Wanna come over? My sister is bugging me and I need someone to save me_

 _[15/4 09:48 AM] ~Fede:D: Connor pleaaaase_

 _[15/4 09:57 AM] ~Fede:D: Connor_

 _[15/4 10:00 AM] ~Fede:D: Sorry but I really need you lol_

He replied:

 _[15/4 10:09 AM] Connor E.: Sure, I'll be there in 20_

Federico's house wasn't that far from his, so he went there almost everytime that Federico would ask him to.

Telling his mom that he was going to Federico's, he grabbed his keys, cellphone, and headphones, and headed out of the house. But as soon as he did, he noticed the green and red-roofed houses next to his. He remembers his conversation with Catboy again and sighs. It ached him to do so, and there was an oppressing feeling in his chest, like nervousness, but so much worst, as if his life depended on this. He was going to Amaya's first, it made sense, it was the closest. But as soon as he was going to, he heard two distinctive laughs. His heart started pounding with a strange feeling.

Just in the middle of his neighborhood (Little Park, they called it) Amaya and Greg were having breakfast together like a picnic. Amaya was telling Greg something excitedly, while Greg was laughing a little out loud. He felt melancholy. He breathed in and out a few times before heading right to them... but chickened out before coming to their sight; he hid behind a tree.

He breathed to himself "Calm down" various times, but it didn't seem to be working. A man with white light skin and orange eyes passed by his side and asked: "Are you okay?"

Enraged at being bothered while trying to calm himself, he said:

"Mind your own business!" He clenched his teeth and the other man grimacing, left the place. He realized that the laughing stopped and Greg and Amaya were looking, but not very friendly. Amaya had a somber expression as if she was confused, and Greg looked cold. They picked up their stuff and were heading to Greg's house.

 _Good job, Connor. You messed up, **again**_ **.** He scolded himself bitterly. He walked to them and stood on their path so they couldn't go any further. Daring to look Greg at the eyes he said: "We need to talk. It's important."

Greg seemed to take that personally, and Connor knew what answer was coming next: "There's nothing to talk about with _you._ "

He moved Connor aside, and heads to his house, with Amaya following close behind. Connor grumbled, and turning around, he blocked their path once more. "It's not about me, or you, or whatever you think it's about. There's an important mission that Catboy want us to go to." Amaya seemed to catch interest in what he was saying and was about to reply something when Greg cut her off.

"You? Going to a mission? Last time I remember, _you_ were helping villains destroy other people's lives." He said disgustedly, yet somewhat hurt. Connor rolled his eyes, he was getting really tired of being accused of something he never meant to do. He clenched his fist.

"If that would've really been my intention, then I would've never helped you afterward. What happened there? I have no idea but neither do you. Because _you_ weren't there." Connor said annoyed to Greg. But Greg, being as hot-headed as he was, keep fighting until the end.

"You are right, I wasn't there, and that's another reason why I should distrust you, we don't know what you did there, so we can't be sure if you are lying. And you probably are, so now, get out of my way, and look for someone else to help you 'cause, clearly, I won't." Greg said angrily. Once more, he got past Connor, and was about to enter his house when Connor replied:

"You won't only help me because you are based on the opinions of someone that you used to love, but dumped you _out._ " Connor saw how Greg stood frozen in place, with the keys on his hands; He looked at Amaya, who was looking at him disbelieving. She seemed to be afraid that he might have caused another fight between them, but Connor stared intently. She looked back at Greg, as waiting for a response, but Greg just looked back with a wrathful look. He was gripping his keys tightly.

"You are the last person to talk about that, after all, your father didn't seem to care about dumping you out." He hit that nerve again. Greg was just making a fuss, and clearly, he needed someone to spit out the truth to his face, and as much as he hated to do that, he felt that that's exactly what Greg needed right now.

He laughed coldly. "You really try. But you are being like that because, deep down, you know that if Luna Girl has loved you enough, she wouldn't have dumped you. The only thing you are doing is trying to make excuses on why she did it; you only took advantage of this situation to try to explain it... you are only fussing because you know the truth." He ended, coldly. Greg now didn't seem mad, he seemed hurt, and Connor somewhat regretted it. _No, he needed it._ Connor tried to reassure himself. _Yes, he did._

Greg sobbed softly, but the furious expression was still there. "Look someone else to help you... and get out of my sight before I do something I'll regret later..." Greg inserted his keys in the lock, and after Amaya entered, he entered and slapped the door hard. Again, why did he do stuff like that? He didn't really mean it... He learned, from lots of missions that two wrongs don't make a right; this time he did a wrong on an open wound when he should've not.

He should've not done that.

* * *

25 minutes later of leaving Greg's house, he arrived at Federico's. He slowed down his pace after all that happened back there, and now he was finally there and saw Federico waiting on the door, playing with his phone and occasionally looking up to see if he was near, and when he spotted him, he jumped from his place and trotted over. "I thought that you would never come or that something might have happened to you!" But looking into Connor's eyes, he spotted something wrong. "Something did happen, didn't it?" Connor nodded sadly. Federico pushed Connor gently to his house, and lead him directly to his room.

Once in there, Connor sat on the pink puff couch that was on the corner of the room, next to the closet. Federico put another puff couch next to Connor and moved the little table in front of them. He sat. "What happened?" Connor sighed and started to tell him about yesterday, the dream with Catboy and the discussion he had with Greg before coming to his house.

"Woah! Did you really told him that?!" Federico gasped. Connor nodded. Federico thought about it for a second before replying. "What you did there was wrong, but at the same time, I think you are right. He can't take advantage of the situation and make you feel bad about it. What he is doing is also wrong." Federico came to a conclusion. "Actually, both of you are being wrong."

Connor only nodded. He tried to amend it once, and it came out horribly. He definitely needed time alone.

"What about the mission, though?" Federico said, snapping him out of his mind. The mission. He remembered the reason why he talked to Greg and Amaya. He didn't get their help. He was going alone in the mission... Federico spoke again. "You don't have anyone to go with you, don't you?" His voice had a small hint of pitty. Connor hated being pitied, but right now that is not important.

He is alone on this mission, he is going to be alone in this mission. It was an odd feeling. Each and every one of his missions had been with Greg and Amaya, there wasn't a single one where they would not go. Maybe there were a few ones, but that was because of sickness, never because they refused to go.

"Yes... but maybe that's what I deserve for siding with a villain... or lying about it." He scolded himself.

Federico's hand grabbed his chin a made him look right at his pink eyes. "Your intentions weren't bad. She used you, controlled you. You felt, you _feel_ , responsible for that and hid it only because you knew it would cause more trouble, and that was the last thing we needed back then. You don't deserve any of this, so stop convincing yourself that you do." Connor looked deep into the pink eyes of the boy in front of him. Gladly, someone didn't seem to think that what he did was wrong. That didn't seem to happen very often now; he relaxed a bit more at those words.

"Can I come in? I have some snacks for you." Mariela, Federico's mother, asked. Federico replied with a quick yes and stood up to grab the snacks. They exchanged a few words in Spanish, which of Connor understood a few, between those, the word "fine" and "worried". After that, Federico closed the door and walked over with the snacks. Connor stared at the clock on the wall; Federico followed his gaze.

"You are leaving tonight, right? Do you want me to come with you?" Connor stared at him startled, he didn't expect an offer like that. Yet still, even if he hated going alone, he had to decline this.

"I'm leaving tonight, yes, but I want you to stay. I don't know if Catboy would agree with you going, after all, he asked for Greg and Amaya. Besides, if something happens, you'll be the only one to know where I'm heading."

Federico was surprised. "You aren't gonna tell anyone else?"

"Who else do you want me to tell?"

"I don't know, maybe PJ Robot?" The pink-eyed boy replied with sarcasm but a little bit of hope. Connor the remember the events of The Great Masks War, PJ Robot wasn't working well since then. The little robot, who would usually remember stuff as if they were happening in front of his eyes (or screen), now forgot anything in a matter of 2 minutes. Several times Silver -as Snowfox of course- tried to fix him, but couldn't. The only one who knew very well PJ Robot was Romeo, but he is not helping them anywhere near the future. They feared that still on, the little robot would end up more damaged, but at the same time, they didn't dare to turn off him... or they just didn't want to acknowledge the truth.

Connor shook his head sadly and Federico sighed. "Fine... Just take something that we could use to communicate, I wouldn't want something bad happening to you. It would stay on me."

"Nothing will happen, but I will." He reassured the other boy. They both smiled and started eating snacks.

He stayed on Federico's house until nighttime.

Connor was walking in the peace of the night side by side to Federico. There was a chill breeze running, and with the moonlight illuminating, it made it seem colder than it was.

"Jeez, it is cold! I should up brought something." Federico stated, wrapping his arms around himself. Connor watched, looking Federico's profile first then proceeding to ask:

"Do you want my jacket? It's kinda hot for me, so I won't mind."

"Nah, I can stand it. I've lived worst." There was a moment of silence for both. But it wasn't an uncomfortable one. Both enjoyed each others company. The last year was enough to put the two boys closer than they could imagine. Federico found Connor to be interesting, and Connor would usually run to Federico for answers when he was confused, angry or even sad. But it wasn't all blue, Connor would usually enjoy Federico's light mood, and they both had shared good laughs.

"How are they?" Connor suddenly asked.

Federico, confused, looks at Connor. "They?" It took a few second for Federico to realize who was Connor talking about. "Oh! You mean Riley, Amaya, Silver and..." Federico hesitated after knowing what happened earlier today."...Greg?"

Connor made a sideways look several times, then proceed to answer. "Y-yeah. I mean, you hang out with them..." Connor spits out the question that has been consuming his mind for a long time now. "Do they- Do they talk about me? Like, bad stuff?" Connor's look now parted away. He didn't know if he wanted the answer, or if he didn't want it. He went for his first option. He listened closely to what Federico's had to say.

"Well... I shouldn't tell you, because it's none of your business... but I think no one deserves to be talked behind." He answered. _Does that mean they talk bad stuff about me?_ Anxiety consumed Connor as the seconds went by. They were one street away from Connor's usual neighborhood. Their synchronized steps seem to match the seconds as well.

"Sometimes when we talk about stuff, you are being brought upon. But they instantly cut it out. Greg gets all... cold about it, and Riley and Silver seem to be pretty prideful about it. Amaya and I are the ones to usually cut it." Connor surprisingly finds that comforting after what happened today. "If you want me to be honest, she is the one that stands up for you the most; she didn't before, but it seems as if she is battling herself about you now, and she seems to be considering things." Federico scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe I should've told you that earlier."

Connor silently nodded. Was really Amaya standing up for him? If that was the case, then that would explain her weird behavior when Greg fought him. _Maybe she just wants to amend? Or just talk._ Connor thought. He was really pleased to hear that someone besides Federico was standing up for him. _That doesn't happen very often now, it feels good._ A tap on the shoulder snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Connor, your house is around the corner! Unless you wanna go to the bar, I wouldn't mind that." Federico said, joking. Connor giggled.

"Next time maybe, you know I have to go tonight. This mission can't wait." They both said their goodbyes and touched cheeks. Connor rounded the corner that leads to his usual neighborhood and headed home; The only thought of packing his stuff for the trip made him tired. He wanted to sleep all night and day, with occasional visits to the park; that was the sole purpose of a break, at least to him. This trip, or the mission, wasn't on his plans for Spring Break.

He opened with the keys the door of his house, and when he entered, he heard two voices. A man and his mother. Even though he knew it wasn't his father, he feels as if he heard this voice before. "Hello?"

"Connor, come here. There's someone I want you to meet." Curiosity stroke him. When he walked into the kitchen, he saw a man with light skin and orange eyes. The man looked back at him the same way. Both shifted uncomfortably in their places. Connor now does know where he heard that voice.

 _"Are you okay?"_

It was early today when he was panicking moments before talking to Greg and Amaya. Now, this was awkward.

Katrina broke the silence. "Connor, this is Codey, he is..." She looked affectionately at Codey, then at Connor anxiously. "He is my boyfriend." He saw Codey exchange a glance with her, then back at him. He didn't know what to think, or how to feel. One day before he was accusing his mother of mooning over his father, now it turns out she has a boyfriend. Not only that, but early he yelled at him for interrupting his whole process of "stay calm". _I made a decision: I feel embarrassed_. Connor thought bitterly.

He decided to give up on his dignity and extend a hand to Codey. "Nice to meet you, Codey." Codey took his hand and shook it. Connor glared at him with an intense stare that said: _"Let's forget about today and let this be our first introduction."_

"Nice to meet you too, Connor." Codey glared back, almost saying: _"This is our first time seeing each other, I don't know what are you talking about."_ Both finally parted away with an approval look.

"Honey, I packed your stuff already. I thought that you might be worn out after today" Connor opened his eyes wide, he looked at Codey then at his mother again.

"Why do you said that...?"

"I thought that you seemed tired today, and figured out that after coming from Federico's you'll be more tired. So I did it for you." Connor only nodded and let out a small 'okay' before excusing himself politely and went to his room. He saw his stuff and picked it up. Grabbed everything that was essential for this trip, like keys, credit card, and ID just in case. Moments later he went down to say goodbye.

"You are leaving already?" Her mother looked rather nervous and concerned. "Isn't it too late? Don't you rather stay home and travel tomorrow morning?" She smiled nervously, and though the idea sounded pleasing to Connor, he had to decline it. He smiled.

"I'm going to be fine, mom. Don't worry."

"Okay... fine. If something happens at the bus stop, or during the trip, or at Grandma's, I want to be the first to know, okay?" Connor nodded. Katrina hugged him. "I'll miss you, baby. Be careful."

Connor hugged back and let himself enjoy his mother's warm a bit more before parting. Once he exited the house, he went the usual way he takes to go to the park instead of the bus station. He sighed. With determination, he proceeds.

 _"This PJ Mask is on his way, **into the night to save the day!"**_

* * *

 **Sooo there was it, hope you liked it! Next chapter hopefully will see how PJ Robot's doing and Connor first part of the journey for the mission, which will be pretty... interesting. Reviews all always appreciated and thanks for reading this far!**


	4. Chapter 3: Stray Cat

**_Chapter 3: Stray Cat._**

23:24 PM...

Connor was peacefully making his way to HQ in the quiet and empty streets of Tarabiscoville. It was a chill night as stated before by Federico. Connor was carrying with him a bag with all his stuff, even though there were things that he needed to get from HQ first, and that's why he was going there.

He could already see the giant Totem Pole from where he was. He was tired like his mother said moments before. He really wanted to sleep, but if he wanted to end this mission faster, he needed to start sooner; besides, he didn't know what could happen to those kids if he doesn't hurry up. Now he pondered those kids. Catboy said that they were special, that he would recognize them when he sees them. Why were they? The thought makes him walk a little faster, the curiosity; but he slowed down a bit.

Curiosity killed the cat.

He had to have in mind that not everything was pink. Catboy said that the city where he was heading to was dangerous, how much? Contraband? Mafia groups? He shivered a little, but let the thought fade away. If he would let those thoughts consume him everytime he would go into a mission, then he would have screwed up the Violet Mask Plan or any mayor plans back then.

Now, entering the park, Connor's mind was suddenly stroke with a thought. What if the others were at HQ? Catboy knew (because he imposed this rule) that every crescent moon, since that night, all of the team should patrol the city together. Crescent moons were always, bad omens for the Masks; everything that ever happened to them (or him at least) happened on a night with a crescent moon, and with the fear of that happening again, he imposed the rule.

If the others happened to be there, then they surely had already seen him through the park's cameras. And as predicted, they did, at least one of them.

Connor saw the door of HQ open and a little robot came to him with claims of joy. "PJ Robot!" Connor hugged the little one, he hadn't seen him in months; probably two or three. Connor was so glad to see him again, and a little bit of hope rose inside him. Maybe Silver had already fixed him! But the conversation with Federico came to his mind and realized that the little robot was still damaged. "How are you doing buddy? Everything's okay around here?"

The little Robot let out a noise that could be translated as 'Everything's fine!' and that made Connor smile, at least someone was positive of everything that was happening. PJ Robot took his luggage and went inside, with Connor following close behind. There was a dark hallway before entering Gekko's room in HQ that seemed to be full of wires on each wall, with little dots of blue, red and green running through them. Once inside Gekko's room, he made his way to the elevators and headed to his own room.

Luckily inside there was no one, and as Connor got inside, the PJ Picture Player activated and scanned him, recognizing him as Catboy.

The 'Persona Scanner' was a new scanner that Riley (or Badgerclaw) came up with and Silver added to the PJ Picture Player. Since Night Ninja once entered HQ and maneuvered to get working the PJ Picture Player, the PJ Masks agreed that it was necessary, and after a year of working on it, they were able to make it work. Once it activated, Connor started setting things he would need for the journey to Milennia Town.

A question came to his mind. "Hmm, PJ Robot, should I take the Cat-Car or my PJ Rover?" A deadly silence filled the room, only the Picture Player could be heard. Connor spun around. "PJ Robot...?"

The little robot was looking dead straight to the wall, giving his back to Connor. Seven seconds later he made a strange noise and looked at Connor's luggage, his screen showed a question mark and he left the luggage on the floor. Once the little robot spun around, he saw Connor, and with a joyful noise he made his way towards him and hugged him. 'Where have you been?' was the question PJ Robot made.

Connor painfully hugged him back.

 ** _Flashback_**

"What happened?!" His desperate cries could be heard above the mess that was happening. All around him, different PJ Masks were fighting Ninjalinos, and over them, on the roof, others were fighting robots; moths were also helping the heroes fight all the villains at once.

He stood over the crimson hero, who was looking at him with pain in her eyes and covering both sides of her head, where the ears are supposed to be.

The white and Cian-eyed hero answered in shock. "Cloudy! S-she tried to- she tried to attack us w-with one of- one of her spells! One it worked, the other one..." She looked over to a little machine on the floor. At the same moment, she surrendered to pain and covered her ears as well, falling onto the ground with wails of pain.

"Twins! Over here! Take them to HQ as fast as you can! I'll be following close behind!" Two weasel-themed superheroes kicked two Ninjalinos over and run up to him, lifting both of the girls that were in the ground. They carried them out of the museum, zigzagging robots and other attacks, with the help of other superheroes at the same time.

He ran up to the little robot on the floor and saw that a expression of pain was shown on his screen, that was half covered in frost, which was expanding at the same time.

He gasped in shock. "We gotta go now..." He picked the little robot on his arms and ran in a hurry, in his way, the pink-eyed boy, the badger clad and the green hero looked at him in shock. He gave them a look of sorrow moments before exiting the place. He runs as fast as he could to HQ.

 ** _End of Flashback_**

"I've been busy, but I'm back for a mission now! I was wondering if I could take the Cat-Car or the PJ Rover. I'm traveling far... and alone. Help me decide which one is better." The little robot thought about it, and the headed to the Picture Player. He hit some buttons and Catboy's PJ Rover showed up in the room.

"The PJ Rover huh? Seems like I'll have to take the route." Connor approached the Picture Player and tapped some buttons. _If I have to take the route, then I'll need a fake license, otherwise, I'll end up arrested._ While Connor did all of that, PJ Robot brings his stuff and packed it inside the PJ Rover, which Connor discovered that it had a small compartment under the sit. He left to get Connor's Rover suit, but Connor told him that he'll just use a regular helmet and clothes.

"Fake license, done." The Picture Player read. Connor took the small license and read it. According to it, he was 19 years old. Not like he cared, a lot of people would often mix up his age due to him being 6,3 feet tall. His mother would often question from who he inherited his height as neither of his parents were that tall; His brother gave the idea that he got that from his grandfather. Taking everything for settled, he asked:

"Is the PJ Rover ready, PJ Robot?" No silence, again. Connor knew what was happening. Behind him, he heard a strange robotic sound and later an exclamation of joy. PJ Robot hugged him from behind.

"Where have you been?" Connor sighed and made PJ Robot let go of him. A question mark appeared on his screen. Connor grabbed a small box and opened it, he grabbed a pen and a green post-stick; he wrote on it.

'I have a mission to go to on Milennia Town. DON'T REMOVE THIS UNLESS ANYONE ASK FOR ME. -Catboy.' And stick it to PJ Robot's chest. "Don't remove it, okay?'

PJ Robot made another noise, this time it lasted longer. _This time was sooner, his memory usually lasts 7 minutes._ Connor thought painfully. When PJ Robot stopped making that noise, he looked at Connor and excitedly, hugged him.

'Where have you been?'

Connor only sighed. He opened the door of his HQ Room, put on his helmet and hopped on the PJ Rover. "I've been in at home for the past months, but I'm leaving now bud. I have a mission to go to. Goodbye." With that, he left HQ, leaving behind a very confused PJ Robot.

* * *

 _25 minutes later_ , Connor was leaving behind the street with the last buildings of Tarabiscoville. He made a stop on a small 24-hour shop to buy some chips and an orange juice, and then continue with his trip. He liked the PJ Rover as much as the Cat-Car, he liked the feeling of the wind on his body because it relaxed him. He felt the same feeling as if he were running with his Super Cat Speed while being Catboy.

After passing some cottages, he was able to see the mountain ranges far ahead. The only things illuminating his path were the light that came from the lamposts on the route and the light the PJ Rover made. Luckily for him, the route he took was less crowded than the other from the parallel side, which was crowded with buses and cars with lots of persons inside. He knew that people would start to come to Tarabiscoville for vacations since Spring Holidays officially started.

He remembered those time when he would leave the town with Greg and Amaya for a camp trip with Amaya's family, whose happened to have a beach house on Mare City. He had the best memories there, and he really missed the place.

A car ahead of him started to slow down and he needed to slow down as well, hating the feeling of the cold wind not running through his jacket and his neck. He loved velocity, slowing down was one of the worst feelings for him. He saw a pile of cars stuck in the same place, and Connor hoped that it wouldn't be long until he could advance. A car behind him made the horn sound to him, and that put Connor on edge. He moved on the small side of the road, where his Rover was small enough to pass and proceed forward.

He tried not to knock any mirror and at the same time, not to crash on road, which was bad separated. He slowed down when he saw people out of their cars and trying to look forward. He stopped behind a tall black-haired man. With curiosity, he hoped down the Rover an approached. "Hello, my name's Connor."

The man seemed startled by him, but then relaxed and greeted back. "Hello Connor, I'm Lucas. Do you need help with something?"

He took his helmet off to answer. "No, thank you. But I was wondering why everyone was out of their cars? Everyone seems to be interested in something."

Lucas looked back and forth, then with a gentle smile replied. "It seems like there's been an accident far ahead, that's why everyone stopped. Others ahead are saying that the route will be probably cut out." He sighed annoyed at that, but then stood straight again. "Where are you heading? It depends on that."

"I'm heading to Milennia Town."

Lucas snorted. "Huh, lucky enough, aren't you? You will be able to get out of here, Milennia Town is on the East. There's a small road you can take from here."

Connor wasn't familiarized with any roads, often someone would take him or he'll take the bus, most of the time not paying attention which roads it takes. Now it seemed important. Anxiously and kind of embarrassed, Connor asked. "Would you give me some directions? It's my first time on the route, and the directions that someone gave me won't work anymore." He looked ahead with Lucas following his glare. Both looked back at each other.

"Sure! I've been there, boy. You take the small road that I mentioned earlier. It starts on the left side of the road so luckily, if your motorcycle is small enough to pass through, you'll be able to get in and follow all the way throughout the mountain rang.e You'll recognize it, this road has some pine trees on the mountain ranges, so you'll be okay. You'll end up on Courant City, it's pretty big, so be careful or you'll get lost. I've never been in there, I've been told, so I cannot help you anymore Connor, sorry."

Connor was so grateful to have encountered Lucas, he was nice. Not like the driver behind him a few minutes ago making his horn sound to Connor and getting on his nerves. "It's okay, that's enough, I'll ask someone there. Thank you, Lucas, and have a nice trip!"

"Nice trip, Connor!" As Lucas waved back, he got inside his car, while Connor moved his Rover in front of Lucas's car and got on the left side of the road.

As said by Lucas, his Rover was small enough to get on it and he took off, following the directions Lucas gave. He knew that probably getting to Courant city would take half of the night, as he left the city not to long ago; he presumed that his trip would last two days until getting to Milennia Town.

At some point, one hour later, the road started to lift up and Connor could see a small lake on the side and how far up he was getting. Some pine trees, like Lucas said, started to appear on the mountain ranges, and he couldn't help but think of the Owl-Glider. The wind carried with it the beautiful scent of pines and water, which he presumed it came from the lake down below and from the rain. One thing that Connor knew about roads, is that he shouldn't drive on them while it was raining, especially _not_ in a mountain range. There's been an accident last year on which a car fell from the edge.

He speeds up a little bit more but had to be careful at the same time...

 _35 minutes later_ , still on the mountain range, Connor was enjoying the cold wind and the relaxing trip he was having until now. The sky was starting to look from a shade of blue to some kind of pink and greyish color, which he guessed were storm clouds; far ahead he could see some thunder lights on the sky.

Now the level was going down and he saw the end of the mountain range, and finally getting out of it, he proceeds on the large road ahead. Again, he was reminded of the Owl-Glider. There were times that Owlette would open the hatch of it and all the wind would get them and, unknown to the others, Connor liked it, it relaxed him. Owlette probably knew it, as sometimes he would ask her to open it when they weren't going too fast. He laughed at one of his memories, where there was snowing and he asked her to open the hatch, half-jokingly. She told him that that would get dirty the Owl-Glider afterward, and Connor joked that it was already dirty. He gained a slap from Owlette afterward.

Those memories lightened his mood. Maybe this mission wasn't so bad after all.

He kept driving on the road, zigzagging some cars and speeding up constantly; he really loved going fast. In the distance, he saw some lights, and he hoped it could be Courant City, as little drops of water were falling from the pink and grey-ish sky. The storm that was threatening before was now starting, and if there was something that Connor hated more than nighttime villains, it was water, especially rainwater. His fear of water got severe as he started to be more conscious of the world around him. Sometimes he dreamt of drowning and his friends were not able to save him on time, or tsunamis hitting his town or such stuff.

He would never admit that he feared things, but when it came to water, he would definitely say yes, that water scared him to death. His fear of water started a long time ago when he was five years old. He and his family went to his aunt's house for a visit, as they didn't visit her for holidays at that time. His aunt's house was big, ridiculously big. She had a two-part house, with at least twelve rooms and five bathrooms around the house, leaving aside the basement, which had another two rooms and a bathroom. She had a backyard too, a backyard with a long pool that ended on a small playground.

That day Connor was playing with his cousins in the backyard, while his parents and his aunt were making a barbecue near the playground. When it was ready, they all were called to eat, and his cousins left all of their and his toys scattered on the ground. Connor didn't like it so he started picking them up until one of his favorite toys, a Master Fang Figurine, fell into the pool. Luckily it floated, but as Connor tried to reach it, he fell into the pool.

He'll never, _but never_ , forget the feeling of his lungs being filled up with water and not being able to reach the surface for air. He remembered a blurry blue vision, with lots of bubbles appearing as he moved his arms and legs frantically, trying to swim to the surface. If it wasn't for his brother Fidelite, he would have drowned. His parents were so scared at the time, and he wouldn't stop crying of fear; that year he wasn't able to be near water without crying of fear that something like that would happen again.

He shook his head as he trembled. Not a nice memory at _all_.

Now he reached the lights he saw back then and came to the conclusion that it was Courant City or the outskirts of the already named city. He saw a Motel and definitely made his way into it. He was not gonna spend the night driving in the rain.

He parked outside the Motel and hopping out of his Rover and grabbing his stuff from it, he ran up inside to avoid rainwater to wet him. He approached the counter of the place and gain a look from a blonde boy with magenta eyes, which seemed one year older than him, or two. The other boy smirked.

"Hello, welcome to Tacheter Motel. How can I help you, hottie?" Connor wasn't paying attention to the other boy, instead, he was searching money inside his pocket. The boy got Connor's attention when he called him 'hottie'.

He looked at the blonde and ignored _that_. "I want a room, whichever you have. I'm just spending the night, I'll leave at noon."

The other boy leaned in the counter with his arm wrapped up. "You can have my room." He said, winking at Connor.

Connor only rolled his eyes. "Don't you have _another_ room?"

The blonde boy searched down the counter and got a pair of keys. He handed them to Connor. "Room C. 85 euros for the night, hottie."

Tired of the attitude of this boy, and exhausted from the trip, he paid the blonde and left the reception with keys in hand.

When he stepped outside, he was welcomed by a raging storm, wetting him all over. He grunted. He. Hated. Water. He heard the reception's door open. "Need an umbrella?" Said the blonde with an amused glare at Connor. Connor only grunted when the other boy opened the umbrella and covered him, but said nothing as he only wanted to get to his room and sleep. He saw his Rover under the rain but didn't care as he knew that it has a special covering for storms like this.

"Nice motorcycle you have there." Said the other, walking by his side. "You seem to really like cats." Connor shot a questioning look at the other. The blonde smiled. "Quite a motorcycle you have. The cat-looking it has it's not that easy to hide." He giggled. Connor let out a long sigh while shaking his head. "By the way, my name's Cole. But _you_ can call me Colby." Connor didn't answer nor talked with Cole (or Colby, whatever) until he got to his room. Once there, Colby said goodnight to him and left, while Connor entered.

The place was not that big, but Connor thought it was just fine. It was a normal room, with a double bed, a kitchenette, and a bathroom. A phone was hanging beside the window with some nice paintings that said 'Courant City'. Connor checked all the room for bugs before using anything, and when he concluded it was clear, he took off his clothes and changed into his pajamas. Instantly, after feeling the soft clothes on his body, he jumped on the bed and wrapped himself in the sheets. Looking the time in the clock beside his bed -which told that it was 03:16 AM- he let sleep consume him.

 _Next day_

Connor woke up 11:00 AM feeling the hot spring sun on his face. He grunted, half confused, half bothered about being woken up by something shiny as the sun. He then remembered. _The mission._ He stayed in bed for another 30 minutes more procrastinating until he decided to take a shower.

When he got out of the shower, he packed his stuff in his luggage and stepped out, keys in hand. He was closing the door when he heard steps behind him, his reflexes told him to act quickly, as it was a place he didn't know. His right arm went backward and grabbed someone, then he spun around and with his right leg kicked the person behind him. It took Connor 10 seconds to realize it was only Colby with a small bag on his hand.

Colby forced a smile to hide his pain. "It's noon, I just figured out to wake you up." He sat and scratched the back of his head. "Ouch."

"I'm sorry! Here." Connor lends a hand to Colby so he could stand up. Colby got up and looked awkwardly at Connor. "Your stay is over. You said it was until noon unless you wanna pay for another few hours." Connor only shook his head.

"No, I'm leaving, I really have to go. The keys." He handed Colby the keys and then was about to take his luggage but Colby beat him to it.

"I'm gonna take that if you don't mind." He carried Connor's luggage to his Rover and Connor didn't complain. Once they got to the Rover, Colby asked Connor where did he put it and Connor revealed the compartment it had under the sit. Colby seemed intrigued, but say nothing and put the luggage on its place. Connor put on his helmet and was about to take off, but Colby handed him the small bag he was carrying. Connor shot a questioning look.

Colby scratched his cheek with his finger and answered with a small blush. "It's noon, so... so I figured out that... that you would be hungry..." He blushed even more. Connor took the small bag and after taking a good look at it, he smiled. It surely felt good to have some sweet attention. He reached his pants' pocket and took 85 euros from his pocket. "Do you have a pen?" He asked.

Colby nodded and handed Connor a pen. Connor wrote his number on the top of the only 50 euros he was handing and handed the money to Colby. "You've been nice to me since I came, so take it. But I hope you understand that we can't be something. I'm just a passenger customer you had, and we'll probably never see each other again." Colby stood there but smiled and nodded. Connor continued. "But I'll be glad to be friends with you, Colby. Text me sometime."

Colby looked at the dollar then smiled back at Connor. "I'll be glad to be friends with you too." He waved. "Have a nice trip, Connor!"

Connor took off on his Rover and sped up on the route, heading straight to Courant City.

* * *

Right now, Connor was circling the beautiful streets of Courant City. The city was named Courant for a reason.

The streets of Courant City were so beautiful that Connor thought that, at least, this was one of the nicest places he's ever been to. The streets were made of sweet stone tiles, which had spring themed patterns on them, some of them even were painted with some nice colors. Grids covered small streams running on both the left and right side of the streets, also some beautifully patterned railings separated the streets from the sidewalk. The railings had some small wire lights, like the ones that he usually uses on Christmas, tangled on them, and each top was painted of dark shades of blue, which Connor obviously liked.

Trees also grew up taller than Connor ever saw, they even reached some house's windows! All the trees, no even one left out, were covered in green leaves; some with pink flowers, other with blue ones, others with white ones, and the ones with the white flowers usually left petals all over the sidewalk, which made it even prettier. The trees were railed too, and inside the tree's tile, there was a flower pot that had a bush with roses in it.

Connor while circling the place, noticed that all the houses were similar to other, maybe the shapes and heights changed, but other than that, most of them shared designs. The houses around there were tall, most of them have two floors. Connor guessed that families only lived there. Some of them were white with garnet colored roofs, others were white with silver roofs, and others were brown and mahogany roofs. Those ones were the prettiest to Connor, as they reminded him of cabins, just bigger and better built.

But the detail that got's Connor attention were all the small streams that ran through the city. As said, most of them ran between the street and the sidewalk, others occasionally ran in the middle of the street, and were covered with strong grids, that didn't flinch every time a vehicle passed over it. Sometimes there were small wooden bridges that connected some streets with others, and even in the streams, small colorful fishes swam through them.

After circling the place various time, Connor decided to make a stop to eat and to ask for directions, once more. He stopped on a small park which had tables and sits made of stone and parked his Rover just beside him. He got from the Rover the small bag that Colby gave him and his cellphone. He opened the bag and saw what had inside. Some french fries, a burger and some macaroons, they all smelled good, and Connor's belly could more than just agree. Colby was right, he was hungry after all.

He started eating everything, and some minutes later, he was finished. His cell phone suddenly started ringing and he saw all the notification that he had on his phone, most of them were texts by Federico, who was worrying too much.

 _[23:38 PM, 15/4/2024] ~Fede:D: Try to contact me when you can_

 _[23:38 PM, 15/4/2024] ~Fede:D: So I know that u are okay_

 _[23:39 PM, 15/4/2024] ~Fede:D: Please or I'll get really mad at you_

 _[23:39 PM, 15/4/2024] ~Fede:D: and nervous_

 _[06:46 AM, 16/4/2024] ~Fede:D: Are you okay?_

 _[06:46 AM, 16/4/2024] ~Fede:D: Have you arrived or you are still going?_

 _[06:47 AM, 16/4/2024] ~Fede:D: please answer I'm really nervous_

 _[06:48 AM, 16/4/2024] ~Fede:D: It's 6 in the morning for my animal totem's sake_

 _[06:48 AM, 16/4/2024] ~Fede:D: I shouldn't be up at this hour_

 _[06:49 AM, 16/4/2024] ~Fede:D: LIKE_ ,, _CONNOR C'MON_

 _[12:09 PM, 16/4/2024] ~Fede:D: I'm begging to my animal totem for your sake_

 _[12:09 PM, 16/4/2024] ~Fede:D: Please tell me you are okay and nothing happened to you_

 _[12:09 PM, 16/4/2024] ~Fede:D: PLEASE_

Other texts were from the group chat of his class, and other were Instagram notifications that Connor didn't really care about. He decided to answer Federico.

 _[15/4 13:41 AM] Connor E.: For my cat's whiskers Federico, I'm fine, I was traveling_

 _[15/4 13:41 AM] Connor E.: There was an accident on the route and I had to take another way_

 _[15/4 13:42 AM] Connor E.: I stopped at a motel, now I'm in a place called Courant City_

 _[15/4 13:42 AM] Connor E.: Great place btw_

 _[15/4 13:42 AM] Connor E.: But I'll arrive tonight at Milennia Town, or maybe tomorrow_

Federico answered almost immediately, sending a text that covered almost half of Connor's screen. He spent the next minutes texting with Federico until Federico had to go. He said goodbye and was packing his stuff until yells got his attention.

"Please! Stop her! She's got my granny's stuff!" Connor instantly alerted, he looked up to see a woman dressed in all black with a black mask on her, not showing her face, running towards where he was. Behind her, a light-skinned girl with short black and green hair was running fastly, trying to catch her. In Connor's eyes, the black haired girl seemed worn out; looks like as if she's been running the other woman for a long time now.

Connor decided to step in now.

Other people a few inches away from him tried to catch the woman, but not hard enough, so when the woman was closing in near him, he spun around fastly with his leg going straight into the air. He hit the woman's chest hard and she fell into the ground. Connor never liked to hit people, especially not a woman, but being a hero taught him that he'll have to fight villains no matter what they were, and in Connor's eyes, everyone who committed a crime was a villain.

Fast as he could, he sat on the woman's back preventing her to stand up. He heard claps from the crowd in the park, and the girl with short hair approached fastly to him. "Thank you!" Connor felt flattered, no one has ever congratulated him for his heroic actions.

"Someone call the police!" He heard someone said. The woman under him was fidgeting a lot, so Connor pressed his hands on her shoulders. A few minutes later Police arrived at the place and took the woman with them. Connor saw a fancy looking purse on the ground and figured out that it was the belonging of the girl's granny. He picked it.

"I believe this is your Granny's," Connor said, handing her the purse. She grabbed it with a smile then hugged Connor. Connor stands straight, surprised by the hug. It's not like he didn't like hugs, but he wasn't used to them.

She then broke the hug to look at Connor with a grateful face. "Thank you, eh, uh-"

Connor smiled. "Connor."

"-Connor!" She finished. She looked at him again. "Please, come with me! I want to show my Granny who's her purse's hero!" She giggled. Connor was about to refuse gently, but the girl's face made him feel guilty for even think about it.

"Sure... I have my Rov- motorcycle over there." He almost slipped up but continued to avoid the girl knowing that. "You can show me the way and I'll drive." The girl nodded and Connor went to his Rover, signaling the girl to hop on. He gave the girl his helmet and drove, listening to her directions. They didn't drive far, and they stopped when the girl signaled a short curvy old woman with black and grey hair.

"There!" They entered in a small gap that was made for motorcycles to stop and parked there. Both jumped down, the girl giving the helmet to Connor, and made their way to the lady. "Granny! We have your stuff back!" The old lady seemed delighted. Connor followed the girl close behind. "Granny, this is Connor, thanks to him we got it back! He's your hero!"

The old lady approached Connor. "Well, aren't you a brave little man?" She said cheerfully, squeezing Connor's cheeks. Connor was reminded of his own grandmother, and he smiled warmly. "Thank you, sweetheart, your parents surely are very proud of you!"

Connor's thoughts drifted a moment to his father, but the warm moment let it pass and he thought about his mother and brother. He smiled. "They sure are..." Connor looked at the girl with black hair again. "I don't think I got your name?"

The girl seemed delighted with what was happening but snapped out of it as soon as Connor talked. "Oh! I'm Marina!"

"Well Marina, it was a pleasure to help, but I gotta go." Connor said. He politely said goodbye to Marina's grandmother and walked away, hopping into his Rover. He heard footsteps coming fastly his way and spun around to see Marina standing behind him.

"Wait! You helped us today, there's got to be something I can do in return." Connor kept looking at her for a few seconds, then something pops out in his mind.

"Well... I kinda got lost here, if you could tell me a way to get to Milennia Town, I would appreciate it." Marina smiled and nodded, telling Connor she'll be right back. He waited 5 minutes in the same place before Marina came again. She was holding in her chest a piece of paper, and handing it to Connor she traced the way on the map.

"Here. You go into the central park, it's not far from here, just a few blocks away! And then take the path where the Cherry Blossoms are, which is pretty pink-ish if you ask me. Also, take Almonds Street if you want to get out straight to the route, it'll be easier without getting stuck in traffic. After that, you'll be going straight to Milennia Town!" Connor looked every traced path on the map and smiled. He looked at her.

"Thanks, Marina! This is really helpful." He looked once at the map and then back at her. "It was nice to meet you, I hope we meet again!" He waved, starting his Rover and slowly getting out of the parking space and driving into the street. He heard Marina yell.

"It was nice to meet you too, Connor!"

After that, Connor followed the directions Marina gave, admiring the beautiful Cherry Blossoms and the fancy streets of Courant City before reaching the end of Almond Street. Before getting out of the city, Connor stopped and looked back at the place. He smiled warmly. "I should add Courant City to my list 'Come Back'. It's a really nice place." Saying that he took off and drove into the route once more, leaving behind the warm and beautiful Courant City.

Connor's been driving for almost 6 hours, with two occasional stops on two service stations for snacks and to rest a little. The sky was painted in yellow and orange colors, and the clouds were from a lighter tone of those two. Connor knew that meant sunset, and he hoped he would get to Milennia Town before night arrived and before the city would be covered by moonlight. According to Catboy, Milennia Town wasn't exactly friendly, and Connor didn't want to risk his luck. He wanted to get there and find a place to stay, safe from the dangers of the night. Though nothing he hadn't seen before, at least he hoped.

In Tarabiscoville, sometimes during his patrols -a very few times- he would cross the way of others evildoers and sometimes, face them; well, not exactly face them. He would mess with them, throwing trashcans and making fire stairs creak just to freak them out. He never really let others see him, even though sometimes he wanted to. Sometimes he wanted to show the people he fought his face so they'll never forget him, sometimes he just wanted for them to know who they actually messed up with. Sometimes he just wanted to have fun with them and scare them a little.  
He never let anyone see him during night patrols. Connor knew he had the attitude of a stray cat.

At the distance, he spotted another service station and stopped once more to rest, he was tired, and he needed to give his Rover a rest before partying again. He took from his Rover some snacks he bought before and started to eat them. He looked at the hour: 21:12 PM. He sighed. He didn't expect it to be so late already. Luckily he wasn't so far from his destination. He closed eyes for a moment, feeling a cool breeze run through, making trees and bushes creak. He could be there all night, relaxing before being ready to take off again, but he knew that this was an important mission and that he couldn't lose any more time. Those kids depended on him.

For a moment Connor pondered those kids. What are they doing now? Are they happy? Why do they need him so much? Are their parents abusive or something? Were there villains that needed to be defeated by heroes? Are they really that special? He couldn't help thinking about them. He was eager to meet them the closer he got to Milennia Town.

He relaxed a little bit more than took off once more. They needed him, and he couldn't be wasting time anymore.

* * *

It was late at night already, and Connor was circling around Milennia Town searching for a place to stay. He arrived an hour ago, but the place was so big that he got lost searching for a place. Now he was far away from the center of the town, where bright lights from buildings and lots of people were. The place where he is now is grim and isolated, it gave Connor chills. Not a lot of people were there, and the small amount that that was, was casting him anxious or strange glances. Connor felt stranged by the place as well, maybe he wasn't supposed to be there? Maybe he wasn't supposed to be in that part of town.

He was driving along the streets, with each minute driving him more crazy and irritated. Why there were not places to stay? He stopped and grunted. He was tired of driving. Maybe he should've searched for Hotels or any other places back in HQ or Courant City.

All of sudden, he felt a horrible sensation of being watched. He looked around but saw nothing, _no one._

Pressing his fingers against the palm of his hand, he let go and started to drive. Not so far away, he started to hear sounds of other motorcycles, and he definitely knew that they came from behind him. He was being followed. He sped up, and pressing a button on the Rover, a small collar with a crystal cat emerged from a small hole. He grabbed it and tossed it around his neck fastly. He looked behind to see who was chasing him and saw five motorcycles with huge and scary men. He looked straight ahead once more but was surprised by two other motorcycles getting in his way from the sides. He dodged to avoid crashing into them and instead drove into the grass, suddenly stopping and flying from the rover.

Connor opened his eyes a few moments later feeling like he was dying. He had a terrible pain in his head even though he was using a helmet. He saw his Rover not so far away from him and was about to get into it again, but the men from before enclosed him before he could do anything. The lights of their motorcycles hard on his eyes.

"Well, well, well... what kind of prey do we have here?" A deep voice said. Connor was covering his eyes with his hand but stopped doing it once the light was shot down. He could see the faces of the men who were chasing him. They all were buffy looking, with big arms and back. Their legs were kinda scrawny to Connor, which was odd to him, yet still, they managed to look menacing. One of them, which Connor guessed that it was the one that just talked, had a very long scar along his face, and a patch on his right eye. Tattoos covered his face, chest, and arm as well. All of them had black and khaki jackets, with dark blue ragged jeans.

"I'm not prey." Connor bitterly replied.

All of them looked at each other and laughed. "We just chased you like a cat chasing a mouse." Said another one, with a raspy and childish voice.

 _Ironic._ Connor thought while looking at them with a deadly glare.

"Aw, don't look at me like that, it's not my fault that we are so good at what we do." Said the man with the scar.

Connor raised an eyebrow uninterested, even though deep down he was praying for them to go away without harming him. "And you are good at...?"

The evil smile on the leader disappeared and was replaced with a grimace. "Robbing." Connor's eyes shot open wide. "Hold him, tight guys, let's get to work!" Connor felt hands on his body as soon as he ended that phrase. He hated when unknown people touched him and given the situation he was in, he started battling the hands, shaking his body and arms wildly. He was held tight by the others and saw his beloved Rover being taken away. _My Rover, my stuff! -_ Worst of all- _My pajamas!_

Everything he needs is inside the Rover, and he couldn't stop the stuff being taken away. Or maybe he could...?

"We got what we need. Give him a reminder of us and let's leave!" The men let go of Connor and one kicked him hard on the side, making Connor twist in pain. He saw all of them leave, one of them with his Rover. He cursed all.

He waited for them to leave, and stood up and hid in an alley between two houses. He holds the collar with the crystal cat on his hand. With the pain still on his side, he said: "T-transform." The usual blue light that transformed him emerged from the crystal and covered him completely, leaving a blue human shape moments before he transformed into Catboy.

He growled. _Let's see who is the real prey here._ He jumped onto the roof of the houses and sped up to where they went. He knew he didn't have long before transforming back to normal, so he hurried on finding them.

Wasn't long enough until he saw all of them struggling with his Rover as if they were trying to figure out how it worked. He stalked his way to them, using the roofs and high fences. Some houses were tall enough to cast shadows on him, which camouflaged him into the shadows of the night; only his wild blue eyes could be seen.

He now was on a roof over the men, he sat like a cat and slashed his tail wildly to one side to another. "I believe that doesn't belong to you." He said, looking right at them. They all looked up surprised by his presence. They all laughed once more realizing how he looked.

"This is none of your concern, kitty. Shoo!" He gestured his hands to Catboy and the rest of them laughed; Catboy only rolled his eyes.

He jumped from the house's roof and fell on four before standing up. Some of them looked surprised that he could land safely after jumping down from a high roof like that one. "It _is_ my concern, you _buffalo._ Now stand aside, I'm going to give that back." He felt a hand grabbing his arm strongly. He looked back.

"No one calls me buffalo, _kitty._ "

He let go of him and tried to knock Catboy with his fist, but Catboy bent back over, being able to put his head between his legs and look right at the man. "I'm more flexible than you think. Also agile." He said, blinking teasingly at the man. He put his hands on the ground and made his body give a 180° turn, kicking powerfully the man's jaw with his feet. Once he landed, he got a hold on the earth tightly and jumped into the man, knocking him down after giving him in the face with his head.

He growled while staring at the others. His suit lighted up. "Super Cat Stripes!" He tied all of them with several stripes and approached them. "No one calls me _kitty_ , either." They all flinched and Catboy left, taking with him his Rover. He hops on it and left as fast as he could, not getting too far away as he entered an alley and transformed back to Connor. He looked at himself. "That was close."

He checked both sides for people but saw no one. He let out a sigh of stress and relief, if he didn't find a place to sleep tonight, something else might happen and he was trying to avoid that. He was tired.

Trash bags falling suddenly to the ground startled Connor and, hiding his collar with the crystal cat inside his chest, he spun around ready to attack. He expected to see another group of men waiting to assault him, but instead, he saw a pair of shiny orange eyes glaring fascinated, which turned to a shocked look and hid when Connor noticed them.

Connor heard murmuring afterward and approached carefully. When he was close enough, he heard what seemed a conversation between two girls and a boy.

"Did he saw you?" Said a girl, with a shrill and childish voice.

"I-I don't know...? I-I think so...?" Said the boy with a shy tone slightly freaking out.

"How can you not know? You were looking!" This was another girl, but this one had a defiant and slightly raspy deep voice.

"W-well, if he saw me, he didn't do anything! H-he- I- well, u-uh- I don't know!" The boy replied with a cracked voice as if he was gonna cry.

Connor immediately realized that these kids had seen him in his Catboy form. Maybe he could leave and let the kids think it was just a dream of some sort? Yeah, he was gonna do that, but before putting it into action, a small thought came to his mind. _Could this be the kids I'm looking for?_ He wasn't so sure, he wasn't so sure what to do either. Leaving and risking the chance of these kids being the ones he is looking for, or leaving without saying anything and look for other kids that might be as well the ones he is looking for? Maybe it was just coincidence that these kids saw him as Catboy, maybe.

While still confused about what to do, Connor accidentally kicked a can that was on the trash bags that fell to the ground. He heard surprised gasps and saw small hands and three pairs of eyes popping from behind a wooden box. "Hello?"

As soon as he said that, the pair of orange eyes disappeared, and the two other pairs, one Lilacs, and other Honey, looked fascinated at him. The owner of the amber eyes stood up and revealed herself as being a girl of between 5 or 6 years old, as Connor guessed. She was wearing a ragged dandelion and white dress, with dirt all over it and torn ends, her hair was blonde and she had white skin. She stood straight in front of him and smiled bravely.

"Hi! What can we help you with?" Connor tilted his head with an eyebrow raised. This girl didn't fear him, even though he could easily be someone who could harm her. She was waiting for an answer and he didn't know how to respond. He looked back to where his rover was and looked questioningly at her, confused about what to do yet.

She looked behind him and knew that what she just saw was confirmed by the looks of the boy in front of her. "So you _are_ some kind of superhero!"

He looked surprised at her. _She went straight to the point!_ He was intrigued by her. He stared at the Lilac eyes in there, now joined by the Orange ones which still had a fearful look. Connor looked back at her. He decided to test her. "How do you know I'm not a villain?"

She flinched a bit at his tone but stood straight with a strong look at him. She smiled slyly. "If you were a villain, you wouldn't have kicked their butts!"

She was referring to the men who stole his Rover a few minutes ago. "And how do you know I wasn't stealing their stuff?"

"Duh, we've been leaving on these streets long enough to know who is who here. You wouldn't have dared." She said defiantly. Connor was taken by surprise by the fact that she lived on the streets at such a young age. _For such a small girl, she is brave._ Connor smiled, he knelt in front of her.

"I'm Connor, what's your name?" She smiled triumphantly and shook his hand strongly.

"I'm Unità! Vita, Hope, come over here to meet Connor!" She yelled with a smile. They both looked at the wooden box where a red-haired chubby girl, whose eyes were Lilac, jumped the box to meet him. She had a ragged white t-shirt and a grey skirt with dirt all over it. Stopping behind Unit, she stared with a smile. The boy he saw earlier, the owner of the orange eyes, came behind the box more shyly and walked over them, hiding behind the two girls. Connor looked at the boy and saw that he was very small and thin, his skin was tan -like his- but had white splotches on it, he had dark ginger hair and his clothes, that were all torn, were a daffodil tank top with an umber short along a black scarf.

Unità turned to look at Connor. She pointed to the red-haired girl. "Connor, this is Vita! The shaking chicken over there-" She said pointing to the orange-eyed boy. "Is Hope!"

"Hi!" Said Vita, shaking Connor's hand gently but happily. Hope only waved his hand with a shy and nervous smile.

Connor smiled and shook her hand as well. He looked at Hope, who was still doubtful about him. "Hi, Hope, nice to meet you." He said, tousling Hope's hair with his hand. Hope looked at him and blushed slightly, smiling softly. He looked back at Unit. "I'm guessing you know a lot about Milennia Town."

"A lot!" She giggled.

Connor giggled as well. "Do you know where I can find a place to pass the night, like a Hostel or something?" Connor was trying to avoid the fact that they saw him as Catboy, especially that they saw him fighting.

Unit nodded exaggeratedly fast. "Come on! Follow us!" She spun around and took the lead. Connor went back for his Rover and tried to catch up with them. He was walking, carrying around with him his Rover, behind the three kids. He looked at them with some pity. These kids, whose gentleness was incredible, lived on the streets. They didn't have warm and comfy beds, let alone a home, but they didn't seem to mind that. Unit and Vita looked rather fine, which indicated that they ate properly. Hope, on the other hand, looked more scrawny, and his shortness made him look smaller than he actually was. He wanted to ask the boy if he had a decent meal recently but limited himself as he thought that question would be out of place. He didn't limit himself to ask other stuff though.

"So... how long have you been living in the streets?" The three of them looked back at him while walking. Hope looked back at the road instantly, Vita slowed down to walk beside Connor.

"Well, Unit and I have been living almost since we can remember." She looked at Hope. She lowered her voice and Connor had to bent a little to hear her. "Hope has been living in the streets for two years now... he doesn't like to talk about it. One day we just... found him-" She still looked at Hope, but this time with a sad expression."-we found him crying alone in an abandoned house that is near the forest. We offered to help him, since then, we treat each other like siblings."

Connor looked at Hope, who flinched a little bit, then looked back at Vita. "So you guys are all family?"

Vita looked at him with shiny eyes and a sweet smile. "It's all the family we have, each other." Connor looked with full pity at them now. He felt now that he couldn't complain about his father, or his mother scolding him, or anything. These kids didn't even have a family, he does, he couldn't complain at all. He had a home, a loving mother, and friends, even if they were mad at him. These kids only had each other to rely on, they had abandoned places to pass the night on, they had _trash bags_ to sleep on. They didn't even have proper clothes. Even though his problems mattered, they couldn't be compared to what these kids were going through.

"Connor!" He snapped out of his thoughts as he heard his name called by Unità.

"Huh?"

"I said that you dropped something." She said, looking behind him. He looked at what she was staring at and saw that it was the collar that had the crystal cat. He knew that he couldn't lose that collar at all. He found it a few months ago while patrolling the city, before the whole Black Spot thing. He discovered that with it, he could transform to Catboy without needing his pajamas. The bad news about it it's that it doesn't last long. The crystal cat it's made of a similar material to the crystal back on HQ, and he guessed that they both were connected for obvious reasons.

He walked back and took it, tossing it around his neck. "I can't lose this." He laughed. He then heard a gasp from Hope and stared surprised at him.

 _"Unità, Vita, look! He has a collar similar to the ones we found a few nights ago!"_

* * *

Sorry for making you wait too much, I've been busy with school and I had a small writer's block. But I'm back now! This was a long and difficult chapter to write for a lot of reasons, but I liked it in the end. Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading!

-Dapple


	5. Chapter 4: Sunlight and Moonlight

_Disclaimer: I don't own PJ Masks, Disney and Romuald do. I only own my OCs and mentioned places on this, except for Tarabiscoville._

* * *

 _Chapter 4:_ _Sunlight holds problems, but does Moonlight?_

 _Greg was painting and was holding himself against a tree. He doesn't know what happened that he was so agitated, he just had a feeling that something was wrong, that someone was in danger. He could still feel it, but he couldn't remember what happened before reaching the tree he was currently standing on._

 _Around him, tree pines were surrounding the place, and the sky was barely visible. The leaves that were scattered in the ground started to crunch as if someone was approaching Greg as if someone was running with hurry. Something was happening but Greg couldn't picture what it was. Was some kind of dangerous animal chasing him? Or some dangerous person? Only three persons that were qualified as dangerous came to his mind, and he shook his head to get them out of it. No, the paw-steps sounded near him, but suddenly they sounded as if they ran past him._

 _In the dim air sounded a different kind of screams, high pitched screams. Something was happening, and Greg didn't know what it was. Someone was terrified or hurt, and Greg couldn't do anything but listen while his heart pounded hard on his chest. He could feel the pain and horror these voices were experimenting. Someone they love just **died**. Greg felt a sudden grief, a grief he's only experimented once in his life._

 _Someone **he** cared about just **died.**_

 _Out of nothing, he finds himself falling in which seemed like a cliff and going underwater. **Help me! I'm gonna drown! I'm sorry!** What was he sorry for? He didn't felt like himself, he felt depressed and scared. He felt as if something important was being left behind; Something important and someone important._

 ** _I'm sorry!_**

 _A hand grabbed him from the ankle and dragged him down, he looked down to the eyes of the person, deep as the raging water that was drowning him. The person talked._

 _ **I forgive you.**_ _But those soothing eyes transformed into a stare of pure anger and rage and started to drag him more violently; Greg yelped and all of his lungs were filled with water._

 _Horror surged through him..._

* * *

He woke up screaming and moving his arms aimlessly just like in his dream, just that now he wasn't underwater, he was on his bed all sweated. He sat up, feeling strongly the hot atmosphere of his room and decided to open the window. Once he opened, he pocked his head out of it and felt the chill breeze on his sweated face; it was a nice feeling. Though when he opened his eyes, he spotted Connor's mother pacing to one side to another with her cell phone on her ear. _I wonder what's wrong with her, she seems worried._

A knock on his door made him come back inside. He looked at the door and said: "Come in!"

The door opened and revealed the person who's been knocking on his door: Amaya. She was wearing a red t-shirt with light yellow stripes and dots on the edge of the sleeves, light blue shorts, and white sneakers. Her hair was in half up and half down style, which made her light brown highlights stand out. "Good afternoon, Greg." She laughed.

Greg looked at his nightstand clock which read _13 PM._ He grunted. "I hate waking up late, which is hilarious 'cause I had a nightmare. Shouldn't I have woke up early?" He finally laughed, but a little freaked out of the nightmare.

Amaya laughed. "Probably," She closed the door behind her and sat on Greg's comfy iris yellow couch chair. "But what was your nightmare about?" She asked, though kinda suspiciously.

Greg raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "I don't know, it was weird. I was in this forest I never seen before. I heard yelling and people, or animals, running. They were all scared and desperate! And I had a feeling of fear and sadness and everything combined, then I fell into this strange looking water and someone started to drag me down... they were angry at me for some reason..."

Amaya looked thoughtful. "Do you have an idea of what could've caused that nightmare?" Greg only shook his head. Amaya proceeded. "Maybe you dreamed of a forest because we use to fight crime in the park, and maybe you dreamed of Connor..." She suddenly said, making Greg frown.

"What does this have to do with Connor?"

"Well, Connor is scared of water, and mixed with the feelings of Tuesday's afternoon..." She sighed. "Maybe we should've gone with him... I mean, he seems lonely and sometimes-" She was cut off by Greg.

"Well, he brought that to himself, he should've thought about the consequences of siding with a villain." He said, clearly hurt.

Amaya stood up and clenched her fists in front of her "Maybe we should give him a chance to explain-"

Greg, now sitting on his bed, interrupted Amaya's sentence."-To explain why he sided with Miss Masquerade, ruined Luna and I's relationship, helped to build the Great Masks War and lied to us about it for over a year with no intention of telling us ever?" Amaya only stared for a few seconds before looking away with a slight frown. Greg looked away too, hurt. "Yeah, I think it explains it by itself...he's a traitor."

Amaya sat on the couch chair again, melancholic. "We've been friends with him for so long... I just don't get why he would do it..." She slammed her fist on the couch. "I just wanna know why!"

Greg sighed and lay down on his bed. He put his arms in his chest as if it was aching as much as his heart. He didn't get why Connor did it either, and that hurt him the most. Connor's the person he most trust or trusted, so it didn't make sense for him to ruin things for everyone, yet again, when Connor first found out that him and Luna were dating, he stormed out and gave him an ultimatum to end it or else he couldn't be part of the team. In the end, Connor accepted it and told them it was okay for them to be together, even though he didn't like the idea. Maybe he still didn't like it and that's why he did it. Miss Masquerade was his way to end it all, surely? That's why he helped her too?

"Greg!" His mother yelled through the house. He's been so lost on his thought that he didn't hear anything around him for a few minutes.

"Yes, mom?"

"Someone's on the door, can you see who it is?" He approached his window once more and looked outside to see who it was. When he saw Miss Katrina on his door, he sensed that something was wrong. He remembered seeing her early pacing outside.

"Mom is Ms. Katrina!" He heard the bathroom's door open and steps on the hallway, and then Lina stepped into his room. Lina was a tall and slender woman, with lighter skin than Greg. Her hair was short, wavy and blonde, and she had beautiful reseda green eyes that matched with her natural long black eyelashes. She was wearing a Sea Moss shirt and light blue jeans. Her hair was wet, indicating that she just got out of the shower.

"Kat? Well- Oh, hi Amaya! -let's go and see what she needs." She headed downstairs, with Greg and Amaya following close behind. When both of them got to the end of the stairs, they heard how Lina opened the door to greet Katrina.

She faces Katrina with a smile "Good morning, Kat... what's wrong?" Amaya and he exchanged a look and then approached.

"Connor's gone! Missing!" She cried. Lina stood there shocked at that, then grabbed Katrina's hand.

"Come in, Kat." She said gently, leading Katrina to her kitchen. Greg closed the door and fastly joined them. Katrina was sitting on a chair and Amaya was handing her a glass of water. "Calm down and tell me what happened."

She took a sip and started talking. "Well, Connor told me three days ago that he was going to my mother's house to spend the vacations and well, you know how independent he is... he told me that he already called my mother and knowing he could handle himself properly, I believed him. Oh, why did I!? I should've checked! What kind of mother am I?!"

Lina sat in front of her and put her hand on Katrina's shoulder. "A mother that believes in her son. Now, how do you know he is not there?"

"W-well, this morning I called her to ask for Connor, and she told me he wasn't there... When I told her what Connor told _me_ , she said that he never called! It's been two days, Lina! He never arrived!" She cried loudly, sobbing. "He never went there for starters! My baby!" Tears rolled down her cheeks, black because of her make-up.

"Have you tried calling him to his phone?" Amaya said softly, rubbing her back.

"I have!" She cried. "I have but each time it cuts off instantly! Oh, my baby!" She sobbed hard. "What could've happened to him?! Did he run away? Was he kidnapped? What if-" She gasped, scaring Lina and Greg at the same time. "No! That couldn't have happened!"

Lina hugged her and tried to comfort her. "Now now, Kat. Connor wouldn't let anyone touch him, or put himself in situations that could harm him, you know that... Connor is a clever kid, he is probably out there..."

Katrina pushed her slightly. "If he is out there, where!?" A small thought seemed to cross her mind. "He's been sad lately..." She stared at Greg for a second then back at the floor. "What if he left to... you know..." The thought scared her to death, but Greg bursting in so suddenly surprised everyone in the room.

"No! No, he couldn't have done that! He would never do that! That thought would never, _but never_ , cross his mind!" Greg said. Amaya was staring at him surprised, his mother and Katrina were looking concerned, Katrina with a small sparkle of hope in her eyes.

A small thought crosses his head. _Federico. Federico is the only one that has been talking to Connor lately, he surely knows something?_

Amaya walked to Greg and stood by his side, facing Katrina and Lina. "Greg is right, Connor would never think of that. Greg and I are going to see if the others know something about Connor." She smiled softly to Katrina. "Why don't you call Fidelite and see if he is with Connor, or if he saw him?"

Katrina nodded and sighed. "Yes, I will do that..." She sobbed. "Please-" She looked at both of them. "-If you find out something about my baby, tell me... I cannot think that something happened to him, I simply cannot..." Greg and Amaya had pity for her.

"Don't worry, we'll tell you right away..." Said Amaya as they both exited the house. Greg closes the door, but keep his hand on the lock.

"What if she's right though?" Amaya stared at him worried. "What if something bad happened?"

"Greg..."

He shook his head. "No..." He whispered to himself soothing words and thought. _If something ever happened to him, I don't think I'll ever forgive myself._ He let go of the door knock. "Come on Amaya, Federico must know something about Connor."

Amaya followed him without a word.

-At Federico's-

"You look as if someone had died. What happened?" Federico said, handing them soda.

"Connor's mother came into my house, she found out that Connor left but not to his Grandmother's. She doesn't know where he is." Greg said. He sighed and tried to think that nothing really bad happened and that Connor was just out there fulfilling his duty.

"Don't you? He told me he tried to talk you into the mission but turned him down." There was a small cold tone coming from Federico, like a small frost, but Greg let it pass; right now that wasn't important.

"He didn't tell me where he was going!"

"You probably didn't give him a chance to tell you." Federico accused.

Greg scratched his head knowing that that was true. He went for the point. "Whatever. Do you know where he is?"

"Yeah, he texted me yesterday. He was going to Milennia Town but seems there was an accident on the route and he had to take another way. He stopped in a place called Courant City. I'm sure that by now he already arrived at Milennia Town." Federico said, showing Connor's texts to Amaya and Greg.

Amaya looked up. "Then we are heading there," She said to herself. "We should've have gone with him in the first place." Greg looked away as if everything that was happening was his fault, and it was. If he hadn't turned down Connor, none of this would've happened, but if it did, then it would've happened another way. Either way, everything was his fault and he couldn't stop thinking about it. He sighed.

"Let's go with Riley and Silver and tell them." He looked at Federico, who was scratching the black nail polish from his nails. "Meet us at HQ tonight to leave."

Federico looked at him in the eyes, then looked down once more, looking how he was scratching the nail polish. "Fine, but try not to be so stubborn on the way."

Greg felt offended by Federico's words. He was being cold to him, which was kind odd knowing the boy. He was gonna say something but bit his tongue and kept it to himself; he didn't need more trouble, they didn't need more trouble. He only scoffed and head to the door with Amaya, Federico behind them.

Federico opened the door and let them pass. "See ya tonight!" He greeted.

"See ya!" Said Amaya.

"See you tonight, Federico." Greg waved.

"See you, Greg." Federico said, half-heartedly before closing the door. Greg ignored the sinking feeling he was experimenting and left, texting Silver and Riley on the way.

"Poor Miss Katrina, she's a good woman... She doesn't deserve to be worrying so much." Said Silver, with a pitiful voice for the woman, and an angry one for her last statement. They were all in the park, talking about what happened at Greg's house two hours ago and what Federico told them about the mission Connor left for.

"Sooo, Connor left to an unknown town for a mission which we don't know what it's about and you want us to go after him because he made his mother upset after lying to her? In my point of view, Greg, _that_ is not our problem." Riley said.

Greg scratched the back of his head. "Well, it kinda is our problem too..." Riley and Silver shared a look and looked questioningly at Greg. "He asked us to go with him... but I refused... so we kinda knew about it..." He laughed nervously.

Silver shook her head annoyed and Riley facepalmed and sighed; he looked at Greg. "So if something happens to him then it's on us, great." He made a fake smile and extended his arms. "That means we are going on a trip, woo-hoo! So much fun." He said with sarcasm. Looking serious as always, he proceeds to ask Greg: "Does Federico know we are going?

Silver replied bitterly. "He just told you that Federico was the one who knew all of this. Thanks to him is why we are going." She blamed Federico, and Amaya was about to answer to that sharp response, but it was Riley who answered first.

"It's not Federico's fault, Silver, Connor should know better than to do that."

Amaya spoke now, with her arm's crossed. She looked from her peripheral vision to Greg. "It's not Connor's fault either."

Greg only sighed. "Let's just go, not like we have another option, and talking about _past decisions_ won't change the situation either." He said tiredly. His day wasn't going exactly how he thought it would. He woke up late -a thing that he hated- and the nightmare he had just made it worse, but the fact that they need to go and clean up Connor's mess made everything just so frustrating. _Couldn't he_ make _a better excuse?_

Silver huffed. "Fine. Let's just hope that Federico isn't too much of a nuisance, the 'Connor' subject makes him annoying. Oh wait, nevermind, he's always annoying." Greg knew what was going to happen next, so he covered his face with his hands grunting.

Riley shot her a death glare. "You complaining about everything couldn't be worst than Federico. He's at least positive about things, unlike you who are always bringing bad energy to people."

"Did you got mad because I talked stuff about your crush?" She said, clearly mocking Riley, which made him mad than he already was. Both started arguing about Federico and at some point, which Greg wasn't sure when it was, they trailed off and started arguing about stuff that wasn't even related to Federico, the mission or Connor.

"We'll meet at HQ." Was the only thing Greg said and left with Amaya walking by his side.

"Today is a very moody day, huh?" She seemed tired and worried at the same time.

Greg nodded without looking at her. _Connor... why did you do that to us...?_

Greg was mad at Connor, yeah, but he was slightly mad at himself. His proudness is what caused all this in the first place, maybe he should've listened to Connor? Ugh! This was all his fault, it always was! He seemed to have a thing with making people feel terrible. He wished it could be the other way around.

He felt a hand grabbing his arm and realized that he was almost going to cross in a green light. He looked at Amaya who had a worried expression. "Are you okay...?" She was rubbing his arm comfortably.

Greg frowned. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Amaya didn't even flinch at Greg's response. "Because you are crying."

Greg changed his expression to a stunned one. He rubbed one side of his face, touching his cheek and eye and realizing that they were both wet. He sobbed slightly and proceed to clean his face with the sleeve of his sweater. He looked straight forward and ignored everything for the rest of the way. He hoped that all of this would end up soon, he hoped that all of this would drown deep into his memory and never think of it again. He wanted this 'mission' to be over.

* * *

A few hours before, in Milennia Town...

Connor stood there shocked holding the crystal cat in hand. He was making sure that he didn't mishear what Hope just told him. Did they have the same crystals? Well, that was his cue. These kids are surely the ones he is looking for.

He shook his head slightly. "Sorry, I don't think I heard you well. A crystal? Like this one?" He said, showing the three of them the crystal cat. Hope was gonna answer but Unità stood in front of him and cut him off.

"Well, not exactly like that, duh. But they are all animals and they are all made of crystals, just like yours! But we don't have them here to show you, hehe..." She said, rubbing the back of her head when she ended. Hope behind her was looking annoyed at Unità, and Connor had sympathy for him. He approached Hope, and when Hope realized, he slightly jumped with a small blush.

Connor asked. "Why don't you carry it around with you? Those things are valuable." Hope looked at him for a few seconds without not knowing what to answer, then he shook his head and answered stuttering.

"W-well, those men you just, uh, beat up tried to, uh, stole them from us..." He then said something under his breath and Connor couldn't listen to what it was.

"Sorry I didn't hear you..." He said.

Hope let out a small gasp, barely heard. "Sorry, I-uh, I said that we hid them in our..." He looked at Unità as if he was waiting for her approval. She rolled her eyes and nodded. He looked at Connor once more. "...in our hideout..." Hope was holding his own hands, and brushing his thumb on his index finger. Connor smiled slightly, this boy reminded him of the first time he met Greg. Greg wouldn't even say a word, or if he did, he did it nervously and stuttering.

"May I see them? 'Cause I'm pretty sure we are meant to do something with them." He said to the three of them, smiling while shaking with his hand the crystal cat. Unitâ and Vita nodded vigorously, while Hope nodded gently.

"Follow us!" Unità said. He got a hold of his Rover again and carry it with him, while Vita came to hold his hand again.

Hope was closely walking to the side of his Rover, at the same time he was inspecting it. He put his hand on it, and then Connor's rover started shaking. Connor looked shocked and then at Hope, Vita hid behind him and Unità looked at Hope.

"What did you do?!" She said.

"I-I did nothing, I just touched it!" He said, his voice cracking.

The Rover now was shaking crazy, the lights turned on and off. Some of the buttons that it had in its panel were pressing themselves as if someone were pressing them. The compartment that had Connor's stuff opened and closed, and the rover moved backward and onwards. The light blue markings it had started glowing, and the eyes of the cat that were the front lights, instead of glowing bright yellow glowed bright blue; a really bright blue. Then it went off.

They all stared at the Rover expecting for something to happen, but nothing did. Vita and Unità looked at Hope questioningly, so did Connor. The skinny boy was shaking crazy with tears in his eyes: "I swear I did nothing, I just, I just," He swallowed. "I just put my hand on it!"

The Rover turned on again and this time a cat's hiss was heard. From the crystal cat that Connor had, a lightning bolt hit the Rover, and the blue light started circling it. They all stepped back slowly. Connor had a small idea of what was happening but didn't know why.

"Be careful!" Vita yelled, and the blue light that circled the Rover head straight to Hope. Connor gasped and run to his help, but the blue light parted in half, and one went back into his collar, and the other circled a very frightened Hope. The way it went back into Connor's crystal cat made Connor fell backward. He sat instantly to see that the other blue light started to change colors.

It changed to deeper blue, then at a violet, then at a light pink, then to all the colors; it was like a rainbow. All the lights shot to the moon and started spinning not so far above them, rounding the shape of the moon. At some point, they turned white and the lights were becoming too bright for their sights. Hope was gripping into Connor so hard, that he thought that the little boy would misshape his arm.

Connor heard a _boom_ above him and the white light became light orange, lilac, and yellow. The lilac and yellow lights head another way, and the orange went down again and headed directly to Connor and Hope. Connor hugged the little boy embracing for the impact, and when it hit them, Connor felt as if he was being taken away from his body and becoming part of the light; but that didn't happen. When Connor opened his eyes, he was still sitting on the ground, gripping into something that was no longer there.

"It took him! It took him!" He looked at Unità yelling desperately and signaling the light.

Vita burst out from behind her. "The light took Hope!"

Connor realized frantically that he was gripping into nothing because Hope was no longer in his arms. He stood up instantly and took from his Rover his helmet and his old one with the cat ears, from the compartment. He put them into the girl's heads and sat them in his Rover, shortly after he sat in it too. "Grab tight!" He felt Vita gripping into him, and when Unità told him they were ready, he drove.

"Where are you?" He said to himself. Just behind a few houses, behind the slope that covered the houses, he saw a flash of orange light and sped up. "Don't worry Hope, we are coming!"

* * *

The moment Hope saw the light coming at him, it was the moment he knew everything was terrible. He wanted his parents, he wanted Big Brother with him. He missed them dearly and wished he could've been able to do something the moment he saw someone taking them forcibly into the big white truck. He was gonna follow them, but Big Brother's expression told him not to. Oh, how much he wished he would've. If he would've done it, he probably would be with his family, and this strange, stinging light wouldn't have kidnapped him right now.

He was so scared, he felt like screaming of fear, maybe cry too. _I want my parents, I-I want Big Brother!_ He was surprised that his thoughts were echoed around the light, which was an empty sparkly orange place; he was floating in it.

He felt a feeling of care and love, and a soothing voice echoed. _Don't worry, Hope. Everything is gonna be alright. I'm not gonna harm you._

Hope hugged himself, feeling scared. _Y-you are not...? Who a-are you?_

The stinging feeling of before now felt smooth and relaxing against his body, as if it was reassuring him; it reminded him of his mother's hugs. _The name's Crash, my boy, but not let this be our first meeting. I shall see you again in dreams, but do not be scared, this is gonna be alright._

Hope was still scared, but not as much as before. _I want Connor!_ His voice suddenly echoed. The need of being with the really tall brunette boy was intense, Hope felt safe with him, Connor made him feel at home, he reminds him of home.

 _I know you do, my boy. He's here to help you,_ belief _._ The stinging feeling came back again, but it didn't last long when the lights flashed into his eyes and he flew out of it, crashing against something big and soft at the same time.

* * *

Connor wouldn't be so frantic if it were one of his friends being taken away by a light like those, he knew that those were spirit animals. But this were kids he just recently met, and one of them being taken away by an orange light in a place he's never been before, yeah, it freaked him out. The thought of the light dropping the kid was one of his fears, other, the thought that the kid would be taken away and he wouldn't be able to find him. The feeling of protecting these kids was strong, the feeling of keeping them safe.

He slowed down when he reached the slope and stopped. He turned the Rover off and jumped off it, then grabbed the girls and sat them on the ground. They took their helmets off and they all raced up the slope. When they reached the top, they looked down to the hill that extended into the forest. He saw the orange light circling a small rock ahead of them and Connor raced down, tripping and falling in the process, with the other girls behind him. He stood up without shaking the grass on his clothes and raced for the light.

"You stay there!" He yelled at the girls while running. The light exploded, sending him flying away a few meters and landing with a loud thud. His back ached crazy, but he ignored the pain and sat up on time to see the orange light expulse Hope from it. The boy was sent flying to him, and Connor opened his arms in time to catch him. Hope opened his eyes and as soon as he did, he put his arms around Connor and Connor put his around the boy protectively. Hope was shaking madly and Connor looked at him then at the light.

The rock the orange light was circling had a weird shape. It was like a spike coming from the ground, but it's point wasn't a peak, it was flat. It had two spikes coming from the sides with the same end, and the rest of the rock was jagged. It had weird markings as if some kind of animal with claws made it.

"Connor, look out!" He heard Vita say, and he turned around to see the Lilac and Yellow light from before coming straight at him. He turned around and his back faced them, all of his body over Hope, protecting him. The two remaining lights passed him with the speed of a lightning, creating a strong wind to stroke them both. The Lilac light rounded the left spike that peaked out of the side of the rock, and in there, it deposited another crystal like his, but Lilac, with an animal he has seen before but couldn't remember the name.

The Yellow light went on the right side, to the spike that piked from that side. It circled the spike a few times, and as it did, the spike's markings started to glow utterly yellow. After that, with a small _boom_ , the light deposited a yellow crystal Caracal on top of the spike. It was shining, and Connor felt as if he was hearing roars.

Now the Orange light from before circled all the rock, from it's bottom to its top, making the marks also glow, but instead of Yellow, Orange. It deposited on the top of the main spike, the one from the center, another crystal. This was Orange, and Connor didn't think he ever saw the animal the crystal was supposed to be. It was small and had pointy ears, also a large muzzle with a round nose on the tip.

Now the three lights circled once more the rock, and it started to lift from the ground, making the whole area shake. The lights stopped and stood there as if they were looking at the lifting rock and expecting something to happen. Then, they flew to Connor's direction once more.

The Orange one embraced Hope once more, separating Connor's from him harshly. The Lilac one embraced Vita and lifted her up one meter from the ground. The Yellow one did the same to Unità. As soon as they did that, they all finished and headed for the moon, dancing around it for a few more times before disappearing with a loud boom.

When the kids were deposited on the ground, Connor ran to Hope and carried him to the side of the girls. He was about to ask them all if they were okay but noticed a ring in each of them. Hope had an Orange one with the face of the same animal the crystal was based on. Vita had a Lilac one, similar to Hope's but with some lighter markings on the sides. Unità's ring was the same as Vita's.

They all looked behind Connor and Connor did too, the rock that was lifting started glowing of the three said colors the crystals were. It started to break, forming a light show in the place, Connor was scared that thing would explode and sent rocks flying all around. But it didn't, it exploded and the remainings of the rock dissolved, replacing it with a huge crystal similar to the one back in HQ.

On the bottom of the crystal was a Caracal, sitting gracefully with its head up and chest inflated, proudly showing. On the center at the top of the Caracal's head, was a Bandicoot, now that Connor remembered. It was sitting there, between the ears of the Caracal, with his head facing one side with its eyes closed. In the top, there was Chinchilla, also as Connor's remembered; It was sitting, like the Bandicoot, but the tail was fluffed and was looking straight at him with its eyes shining.

"What _is_ that?" Vita asked, clearly impressed. The Crystal was deposited on the ground with a loud thud and was there.

"It's a crystal, a magic crystal," Connor said, without taking his eyes off it. He looked at the Crystal, then at the rings, the kids have. They were now white, because they lacked power, and Connor knew exactly what was meant to happen. He knew exactly why the Crystal was there, and why he was called to do this. He knew it all. "Kids, come over here, there's something I need to tell you."

The three looked at him, then at the Crystal, then back at him. They all approached, listening carefully to what he had to say. Now that they've seen it all, they knew that Connor was no ordinary teenager. Not like they thought he was before since they saw him using powers, but they wanted to mess around with him a little bit and since this all happened, maybe messing around wasn't the ideal. They needed to listen to him.

Connor sat on the ground, and so did the kids. He had his legs crossed, and the kids imitated him. "This may be hard to believe for another person, especially if I'm telling them like this, but given all the circumstances-" The kids looked at him as if they didn't understand. "-given the weird stuff that just happened with those lights, I know you are gonna believe me. I was sent on a mission, my Animal Totem or Spirit, Catboy, told me that there were three Animal Spirits that sought for my help so I could train _their kids_ to become PJ Masks, like me."

Vita raised her hand, slowly. Connor nodded. "What's a Stirip Animal?"

Connor laughed. "A _Spirit_ Animal, Vita." She blushed slightly embarrassed. Connor smiled. "It's an animal that only walks in your dreams, they are there to protect you from nightmares and bad stuff."

Hope seemed thoughtful, but when Connor mentioned that, he burst out surprised. "I've heard mine! I've talked to him! He told me in a weird way that I'll meet him soon!"

Connor smiled at the boy. "Those lights, like the one that took you, Hope, it's them. I didn't know which kids I was looking for when I arrived here, but before leaving home, Catboy had told me that I'll recognize them right away. And I did, when I saw all of you, well, kind of."

"Us? Why?" Unità asked, excitedly and curious.

"First of all, you saw me transforming into my other form, Catboy!" He laughed. "Second of all, you were the ones I was looking for when you offered to help me and when you mentioned that you had this kind of crystals." He said, showing his crystal cat again. "No one has them but superheroes, like me."

"Really?!" The three of them exclaimed excitedly, even Hope. Connor smiled and nodded.

"See the rings you have?" The kids took a look to their ring fingers in their right hand, then look up to Connor once more. "They are like the bracelet I have here," He showed quickly his bracelet. "They transform you into a superhero, like me! But they don't work unless they are full of magic. Spirit animal's magic."

The kids were watching intensely at him now. "Where do we get it?" They asked in unison.

Connor laughed, but then looked at the crystal briefly before looking back at them again. "The crystal you see there is for that. You need to touch it."

"We will!" Jumped Vita and Unit.

"I won't!"

Connor, Unità, and Vita looked at Hope, who was looking upset. Connor went to the side of the boy. "Why not, Hope?"

"That light kidnapped me, that light _made_ that crystal, I'm not touching it." He said, crossing his arms and looking to the ground with small tears on his eyes. Connor understood how Hope felt, well, sort of. When he was his age and found out about the crystal, he was slightly scared of it too, and if it weren't because he lost his powers and were against Night Ninja, he wouldn't have touched it.

"I know you are scared, but it's for the greatest good, I promise." That last statement made Hope looked shocked, then he looked at Connor to the eyes intensely, clearly grieving. Connor found himself looking into a fragile zone, where any word he might say _might_ screw all up, so he carefully chooses his next words. "I promise you that nothing will happen, I'm right here if you need me."

Hope looked so lost that Connor thought that the boy was gonna faint at any moment, but he found himself surprised that the smallest boy hugged him and grabbed him tightly. "Okay... but don't leave, Big Brother."

When Hope called him that, Connor realized that the ginger boy was not talking to him but to someone else that wasn't there. Connor only hugged back feeling pity for Hope. Vita and Unità were looking at him, waiting for him to say something. He sighed. "Why don't one of you go first? I'm sure you are pretty excited about being a superhero."

"Oh, oh! I will! I will!" Unità said. She stood up and raced for the crystal, and slowed down once she was near it. "So I just touch it?" She yelled from her place to Connor.

"Yes!" He yelled back.

* * *

Unità smiled and decided to study the crystal first before touching it. She looked at the big yellow cat that was in front of her. "Pretty." She pressed her hand in the muzzle of the Caracal, and the crystal started glowing. The yellow light from before burst from the eyes of the crystal feline and into the arm of the girl, racing through her body like a lightning and knocking her to the ground.

Unità was standing in an empty place full of stars floating around. "Woah!" She exclaimed surprised, this was nothing like anything she has seen before. She started jumping and playing with the stars, trying to catch them as they floated away. She jumped and jumped around until she leaped higher than anything she has jumped before. She made a _clap!_ and thought she caught something in her hand.

She had her hands together, seeing as a light was coming from the cracks free of skin. She opened them slightly and a star floated slowly out of her hand and into a circle of light in front of her. Unità was looking carefully at what was happening.

The circle of light that was on the ground started to rise up and taking shape, it varied from several shaped. Small, medium and even bigger shapes, she counted them all, nine of them were! When only one of them remained, she approached the shaped light and spoke: "Hello? Are you my- uh- something, um, Animal?"

She heard a laugh, then the shaped light transformed into a big Freesia colored feline with large, tufted ears, a short tail, long legs and big paws with a short muzzle. She had white sparkly eyes that were looking at Unità lovingly. She laughed once more and with a deep female voice, she said: "You are right, Unit, I'm your _Spirit_ Animal. The name's Black Ear."

"Woah! You are so pretty and cool! I've never seen a big cat like you before!" Unità exclaimed, amazed. Black Ear approached the girl and started nuzzling her, purring in the process. Unità pressed her hand against Black Ear's head and petted her. Black Ear stepped back.

"That's because I'm a Caracal, 'Nit." She laughed. "I'm guessing Connor sent you here." Unità nodded happily. "Then let's make this quick, so you can test your powers."

"Powers?! Cool!" The Caracal sat in front of Unità and signaled her to extend her hand, where she had the ring.

"When I give you this, everytime you transform, your name won't be Unità, but Black Ear. Understood?" Unità nodded in understatement and Black Ear put her nose on the tip of the ring and started to sing.

 ** _I have watched over you, times and times before_**

 ** _Now that we come face to face, I wanna say that I love you_**

 ** _Take this as a present, from the bottom of my heart_**

 ** _Unità, as your name says,_**

 ** _You are the union of our lives._**

Another light, this time brighter, embraced Unità and lifted her up a little bit. Some of the stars on the place felt attached to it and began to fusion with the yellow beam. Black Ear sat on the glimmery ground and watched Unità relieved and with love. When Unità started disappearing, Black Ear stood up and yelled. "We are gonna meet up again, 'Nit! Lead with your heart and rise hope with your smiles!"

A faint and distant reply sounded in the place. "I will! I promise!"

* * *

Connor was sitting beside the crystal, with Unità's head lying on his knee while she slept. Vita and Hope were playing tic-tac-toe on the dirt, each of them with a stick, Hope was winning and Vita was begging for him to teach her how he did it, he agreed to it at the end. Connor smiled at the sight but looked at Unità once the ring and her hand started to glow.

He lays her on the ground and watches as her body is consumed by the yellow light from before. A loud _hiss_ could be heard and Unità landed in the ground in two _paws._

"Woah." Was all that Connor said. He was impressed, he's never seen someone else transform the first time into a PJ Mask, only himself and didn't even get to see himself doing all of this, but now that he has seen it he was amazed. Unità wasn't wearing his ragged dress anymore, it was replaced with a full animal costume. _A Caracal._ Connor thought.

She has long, pointy, tufted ears, and their insides were almost white; the tufted fur on the tips was black and the back of them was black with a white border. She had a half-long tail with a black tip, and her chest was of a Golden Haze color. She had Cream claws which were tufted on the bottom. Her costume had a fur texture and she had fur on the sides of her face.

She looked behind, into the crystal, and saw her own reflection. She let out a gasp of joy. "Look at me! Look at me! I'm like you!"

Connor laughed but coughed. _I think I'm getting a cold._ "Awesome, Unità! Once Vita and Hope get their powers, we are gonna test them."

"Yes! I won!" Vita yelled in the background, Connor turned to look at her with an eyebrow raised. She stammered. "U-uh I just won a Tic-Tac-Toe game." She laughed nervously.

"It's okay, Vita. Come to get your powers, winner." Connor said. Vita smiled, stood up and trotted over to him. He looked at Hope. "You are next, are you ready for that?" He smiled a little bit sad at the little boy, but Hope smiled sweetly and replied.

"I think I am... only if you are here." Connor nodded and Hope showed a bigger smile. "Then I am." Connor nodded affectionally and turned to look at Vita, who was about to touch the crystal. Connor looked at the sky that was starting to look a little bit more brighter and realized that dawn was coming soon. _They need to hurry up if we don't want to be found_. Connor walked over to Vita and sat on the ground once the girl fell to it. He put her head on his knee like he did with Unità and waited.

* * *

It was getting late back in Tarabiscoville, and Greg was organizing his stuff on his luggage. He was getting ready to part tonight so they could go and find Connor. Outside was silent except for a few persons talking and some birds singing. It was kind hot outside with a few chill breezes passing through. Once he ended to package, he grabbed a map from one of the sides of his luggage and looked at it.

Milennia Town.

It was far, was passing at least two cities before arriving, and having in mind that Federico said that Connor had trouble getting there because of an accident on the route, they'll probably have to take another way. They could all take the bus, or just go with their or any of the vehicles, but using _any_ of those vehicles (didn't mind which kind) would give their team away. So he decided to see which bus could take them directly there.

"What are you packing for?" He cringed at the voice of his mother, Lina. He closed the map and turned around trying not to smile.

"I, uh, thought that I could, uh... go and-"

"Let me see that map." She said authoritatively. Greg bit his lip and handed her the map with a deep blush on his cheeks. She examined it for a little bit before raising an eyebrow with a frown on her face. She looked at him questioningly. "Where are you planning on going?"

Greg sighed frustrated. "None of your business." He replied. She looked at him with a mad face and he shrugged a little bit. "Just want to check out where Connor might be, we all agreed that we should help to look for him."

She looked at him confused. "Who else is going?" Greg told her that his group of friends talked this afternoon after what happened with Katrina and decided to look for Connor by themselves, even if part of it was a lie. "And do their parents know? Does Alexander know that his daughter, Amaya, is going to places that might be dangerous? Where are you starting?"

Greg shrugged and Lina closed the map harshly. "Greg, if all of your friends would jump from a bridge, would you too?" He looked down, not daring to look at her face. "I'm sorry Greg, I know that you are worried about Connor, but no, I'm not letting you go to any dangerous place. He didn't even answer his phone, you have no idea what might have happened to him. If your friends want to go, fine, that is not my problem, but _you_ are _not_ going." Greg was about to protest but Lina cut him off. "You are _not_ going, did I made myself clear?" Greg nodded with a frown on his face and Lina spoke again. "Did I made myself clear?"

Greg grunted. "Yes."

"Yes, what?" Lina asked again, angry.

"Yes, mom." Once she exited the room, Greg jumped on his bed and picked up his cell phone to call Amaya. He was about to touch her phone number but received a call from Riley before. He answered.

"What?"

"Woah, calm down, dragon. I have bad news." Answered Riley on the other side, making clearly with his tone of voice that he had bad news as well, and Greg could already guess what they were.

"Let me guess, your parents didn't let you either, yeah my mother too."

"Really?" Riley said.

"Yeah, you know how she can be. Oh wait, I'm receiving a call from Amaya." Greg said, looking at his screen in which appeared Amaya's name on it alongside her phone number.

"I'm getting one from Federico," Riley said, and after that, there was a _click._ "You are both on."

Before any of them could talk, Greg cut them off laughing half-heartedly. "Your parents didn't let you either?" Two affirmations from Amaya and Federico could be heard on the other side of the line. "I think we should've thought of something else."

Amaya spoke up now. "More lying? After watching what happened with Katrina today? Seriously?"

Greg only grunted. "If you have a better idea, tell me."

She didn't have time to answer as Federico interrupted them all. "Let's just go, they'll never let us and if something happens to Connor-"

"Then it'll be on us. He's right, let just go." Riley finished. Amaya and Greg agreed, but with a pang of guilt for even lying to their parents. Greg knew how protective his mother was; her husband died and her daughter moved to another country with her baby and her husband. Now he was leaving her behind her back to a dangerous place in which he could easily be harmed and she'll be left behind worried about him. He loved his mother, dearly, but the others were right. If something happens to Connor it'll be on them, for knowing where he was and not helping; it'll be on him because he refused to help Connor. He needed to do this, even if he didn't really want to.

"Fine." He said, and Amaya agreed as well. They all hang up and Greg put his phone down. He extended his arms on the bed and sighed. His day was definitely not going the way he wanted. He pondered Connor. He wanted to forgive him, he really did, but every time he thought about what he's done, anger boiled in him and ran through his veins. Part of him was confused, part of him was clear about what he was doing. There was something that wouldn't let him hate Connor fully, something that he wasn't sure what it was. He sat on the bed and walked to his desk and opened the drawer.

He smiled at the sight of the photo he was holding, and going back to his bed, he talked to it. "Dad, why is everything so confusing and upsetting?" The photo was a picture his mother took when he was a baby. In it, there was his father Daniel, who died when he was twelve, playing with him on the park. "I wish you were here, you knew everything, you knew how to help everyone. None of this would've happened if you would've lived." He sighed and a small sob escaped. He hugged the photo and fell asleep a few minutes later.

He woke up five hours later when the moon was already up in the night sky. His room was dark and he could barely see, he could see a few things thanks to the moonlight illuminating inside. He picked up his phone that was under his pillow and saw that he had several lost calls and texts from his friends. He read them:

 _[23:09, 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: Greg, where are you?_

 _[23:09, 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: We all are in HQ waiting for you_

 _[23:09, 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: Greeeg [23:09, 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: What the hell are you doing?_

 _[23:19, 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: You probably overslept_

 _[23:25, 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: Yes you did_

 _[23:27, 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: If you don't wake up I'm gonna call you_

 _[23:30, 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: I called you twice, come_ onnnn

 _[23:43, 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: Okay now everybody called you, what are you? A bear in winter?_

 _[23:47 17/4/2024] Silly Owl~: COME ON GREG_

 _[23:30, 17/4/2024] Riley:P: Dude, come on, wake up already_

 _[23:43, 17/4/2024] Riley:P: It's really hot outside and here in HQ is worst now that the air conditioner doesn't work anymore_

 _[23:47 17/4/2024] Riley:P: Dude I'm gonna kick your ass pretty hard when you get here_

 _[23:47 17/4/2024] Riley:P: If you get here of course_

 _[23:50 17/4/2024] Snow: Greg, we are waiting for you for another few minutes, if you don't show up in thirty, we are leaving without you._

 _[23:50 17/4/2024] Snow: If that happens I'm gonna be so pissed at you when we go back_

 _[23:51 17/4/2024] Snow: So hurry up_

Greg jumped from the bed hurriedly, he fell asleep and now he was getting _really_ late. He picked up his luggage and other stuff that might be useful and, giving old Lionel a treat and a goodbye, he left. He found that the whole house was dark, and at the top of the stairs, he found a note from his mother.

 _Emergency at the Hospital, gonna come back tomorrow morning. There are salad and fish in the fridge. Goodnight honey. -Loves you, Mommy._ Greg smiled sadly at the note. His mother was going to come back at morning and not find him in his room sleeping, and she was gonna freak out. He picked hurriedly a paper and a pen and wrote:

 _I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do this. But I really need to find Connor. You are in your rights to be mad at me when I come back. -Loves you more, Greggy._ He stuck it on the fridge, and using his keys, he unlocked the door and left, closing and locking after. He hurried up to HQ.

He arrived gasping for air at HQ, where all of his friends were looking at him annoyed. Silver spoke up first, voicing all of their thoughts. "Did you finished sleeping? Can we leave now?" He only nodded and gasped for more air. He almost runs the whole way so he could make it on time. He was used to running all over the place, but as Gekko, not as Greg and full of stuff that was heavier than his lizard pet.

"We are taking the bus, let's go." Amaya said.

Greg stood up straight at that statement. "Who decided that? I could've met you at the bus station!"

They all laughed, and Amaya spoke. "I did, but we all thought that making you come all this way would be a good punishment for letting us wait for two whole hours. It's not funny, right?"

Greg grunted. "No, it's not. Can we leave now?"

Riley approached with an amused expression and with a water bottle on his hand. "Yes, but first have a little bit of water, you seem as if you just ran a marathon."

Greg grabbed the bottle and before drinking it, he said: "Yeah, something like that." After Greg was finishing drinking his water, they all left with passports on hand and waited for a taxi to pick them up. The bus station was far away from the park, almost at the ends of the city, so walking there wasn't an option. Once the taxi arrived they all got in, with Greg sitting on Riley's lap due to them being too many to fit in there, and since Greg was the smallest, he was the chosen one for that task. Their luggage was on the back of the car, and now they were all quiet on their way to the bus station.

He was looking out the window, watching markets and houses pass by. At some point, he laid on Riley's shoulder, and since the other boy didn't say anything, he stayed there. He wanted dearly for this to be over, for all of it. But he knew that this was just barely starting and that so many stuff was waiting for them. Many stuff that he knew, wasn't going to be easy.

* * *

All around the clearing were laughter and running steps from little children. Connor was watching Unità, Vita and Hope playing in their new forms. Once they finished receiving their powers from their animal totems, they all told Connor that their animal totems ordered to call themselves different names than his real ones. Connor had told them that they told them that because bad people could find them if they knew who they really were. When he asked for their new names, Unità answered that her animal totem said that she should call herself Black Ear; Vita told him that her new name was Cotton, and Hope told him his new name was Crash.

"This is so fun!" Crash exclaimed before Black Ear and Cotton jumped onto him laughing. They all laughed when they fell to the ground and started chasing each other again. Connor saw that the sky was almost clear now, and he decided that it was time for them to return to their normal selves. He thought that they could practice their moves. _We'll need to wait for tonight to practice them._

"Okay, playtime's over kids." He heard protests coming from them, but he shut them down. "We need to keep ourselves a secret from others, and the sun is starting to rise. Let's find a place where we can all sleep and later let's go for food, does that sound good?"

"YES!" They all shout. "How do we go back to normal?" They asked in unison. Connor laughed and said:

"Only touch the symbols on your chests, that should allow you to go back to normal." They did as told and when they did, they were suddenly surrounded by their lights and back to normal in a flash. Vita spoke first.

"Let's go to our hideout and sleep! It's not that far from here!" They all ran up to Connor and helped him up, leading him to the hill that leads up to the town. Once they left the place, and the crystal, Connor saw his Rover behind a house and thanked the City of Stars that no one stole it from him. They led him past the houses that were near to the slope, avoiding trash and other stuff that might damage the Rover, and when they finally stopped, it was at a half-demolished house. It was small, it only had four cemented walls, one of them half demolished, and a ceiling made of fabric that was sustained by ropes on the extremes. Connor wondered how did they even got it up.

When they all entered, there was stuff scattered around, like broken toys and some plastic dishes. Three plastic cups were also in the ground, beside a pond that formed in a hole that was on the ground.

"Sorry about the mess, we didn't know we'll have guests in here!" Vita apologized.

"It's okay Vita, it's not that messy." He didn't mind the mess at all, especially because it wasn't mess, it was the only stuff they had. He made a note to himself to buy a cuddly for them, and clothes.

"Connor, come over here! It's a comfy place where you can sleep!" Hope said. "I sleep usually here, but you can have it for tonight." He stated. Connor thanked him and tried to adjust himself in the small ragged cushion which they called 'comfy'. It wasn't for him, but for them, it was, as they probably never slept on a proper bed. Once he adjusted himself, he signaled the kids to sleep beside him, and they all cuddled with him until the afternoon.

It was 3 PM in the afternoon when Connor woke up, his back ached crazy, but he didn't dare to complain as this kids tried to give him a place where he could sleep comfortably. Hope and Unità were still cuddling his legs, but Vita wasn't with them. When he looked around, he saw her washing her face on the pond that he saw last night. "Good afternoon."

She stopped washing her face when she heard Connor talking. "Good afternoon! Have you slept well?" He nodded, even though his back and neck ached madly, and she smiled. "Are you gonna take us to eat something? I'm really hungry!"

"Yes, let's wait for Unità and Hope and we can all go eat something, but before that, we are gonna make a stop on another two places."

"Okay!" They both waited to Unità and Hope to wake up, talking about the events of last nights, with Vita making most of the questions. Once the other two woke up, they left their hideout and headed for the main part of town, where there only was a small number of people. Connor thought there would be more, but surprisingly enough, it was almost empty. Before leaving the hideout, Connor had made a research two look for places where he could buy stuff for kids, he found several of them in the main center of the town, and there is where he was heading to. He stopped in front of a place that had a big colorful sign on the outside that read _Les_ enfants _cœur!_

"Where are we?" Unità asked, looking confused at the place.

"In a clothing store." Connor said a lead them inside. He knew that they needed clothes, clean and proper clothes, so the first place he decided to stop by was a clothing store for kids. Thanks to his job, he had a decent amount of money that could actually afford this. When they were in there, he said: "Go, see stuff, and if you like something, come back and tell me." The three of them nodded and ran into the store. Connor yelled. "Don't touch anything!" He sighed and decided to explore the store himself.

****  
Vita was exploring this huge, colorful and shining place. There were shirts and dresses all over the place, and she wanted it all! But she knew that Connor couldn't buy everything, so she paced around until she saw a beautiful dress that was white on the top part, had a red and black ribbon in the middle and had a red skirt with white dots. It was the most beautiful dress she has ever seen!

She listed it in her head so she could later tell Connor. She kept exploring the place and found herself looking at some Rosey pink long socks and some shiny pair of black shoes that had white ribbons on the top. She wanted this too, she wanted it all! But mostly the dress she earlier.

Vita looked around, searching for Connor, but didn't see him so she started walking, hoping that she could find him. She suddenly bumped into someone, and saw a brunette girl, taller than her, looking at her confusedly and frowning. "Can't you watch where you are going, peasant?" Vita was gonna stand up and leave apologizing, but the other girl spoke before she did it. "And what with that ugly look? Did you got lost on your way to the junkyard?" The brunette girl mocked.

Vita only stood there, without replying to anything. She felt a sinking feeling in her chest but ignored it, this girl didn't know anything so she ignored her a left; though she was gonna tell Connor about that silly brunette girl.

She kept walking around the place until she saw Connor's familiar jacket and silhouette. "Connor!" She ran to him, and he spun around at the sound of her voice and smiled.

"Did you found something you like?" He asked.

She nodded vigorously and said: "Yes! Yes! Follow me!" She remembered this time the place she came from and guided Connor through it. She finally found the dress, the socks and the shiny shoes she saw before and told Connor she wanted those. Connor checked a small ticket that was attached to those things and smiled, he grabbed them. Vita smiled and followed him to some fancy but small houses that had shiny fabrics hanging from a pole.

"Go in there and try it on, so we know that it fits you." Vita did as told, and when she tried it on, not only fitted her but she thought it made her look like the prettiest girl on the whole world. She also tried to shoes and when it fitted her too, she told Connor. She handed Connor, sticking her hand from one side of the small house, the stuff and changed into her normal clothes.

She saw Connor talking to a girl as tall as him. "We are gonna take these."

"As you wish." She looked at Vita, then back at Connor. "Is she gonna put it on now?" Connor shook his head. "Are you... sure...?"

Connor had a not so happy face and replied with a hard tone. "Yes, I am sure." The other girl shrugged and left with her clothes on hand.

Vita talked to Connor. "Where are Hope and Unità?"

Connor, looking from one moment upset to another smiling at her, replied. "They are waiting in the door, they already found what they wanted."

Vita nodded and followed Connor silently to the front of the shop, where there was the same girl that attended them before, putting her stuff (and other things) inside colorful bags. She saw Unità and Hope playing with two new toys, soft and clean ones. "Woah! Where did you get those? I want one too!" She approached the and short after Connor appeared behind her.

"Do you?" He said, and when she spun around, Connor had another toy like the one Unità and Hope had, but hers was a fluffier, even softer, kind of mouse that had shiny Lilac eyes. She gasped happily and hugged her new toy.

"She looks like Cotton!" Vita exclaimed. "Thank you!" She hugged Connor and joined her friends.

Connor saw the three friends talking about their new toys and he smiled warmly. The second place he was looking for was a Toys Shop, but since he saw those cuddly in here, he decided to buy them like a gift for them. Now that he bought clothes for them, he decided to take them to lunch, even though it was already 4 PM. He knew that they were hungry, so he made a stop on a Hotdog's Cart and bought three for them.

He was right, they loved it, and once they finished, they headed back to their hideout and hang out in there until nighttime. The kids kept playing with their new toys until he decided to take them for training.

" _Petit Masks_ , it's time for testing your powers!" He said, excitedly in some way. He felt cheerful about them, and he surely was hoping to give them lessons and teach them everything he knew. He knew that if the others were there, it would've been easier to train them in every aspect, but since it was only him, this would take more effort.

Unità asked. "Petit Masks? Why do you call us that?"

Connor laughed heartedly. "Because you are PJ Masks now," And brushing her hair with his hand he says: "And because you are small."

She laughed and grabbed his hand. "We are small because you are really tall! That's not fair!"

 _They all laughed at Unità's commentary then left for the training._

* * *

Sorry for the late update, was the end of the trimester at my school and I had a lot of tests and homework to do, especially because I got delayed because I was ill. Hopefully, this long chapter made it for the long wait. Hope you liked and don't forget to leave a review!

-Dapple


	6. Chapter 5: Les Petit Masks!

**Sorry for the delay, enjoy.**

 **PJ Masks belongs to their respective owners, I only own my OCs.**

* * *

 _Chapter 5: Les Petit Masks!_

Connor was walking peacefully under the moonlight to the slope that was behind the houses while Unità, Hope, and Vita played around him, chasing each other and laughing in the process. Connor couldn't help but smile at them, they reminded him of when he was their age playing around the city with Gekko and Owlette when there were only three PJ Masks on the team.

Hope was a lot like Greg when he was younger, just a lot more nervous and fragile. Vita was more like Owlette and Unità was more like him, and he was sure about that. She is energetic, a little bit egocentric, and quick to act without thinking, reckless; just like his younger self. He cringed a little at the thought of his younger self but shook his head with a snort.

He started climbing, with the kids racing ahead of him, trying to beat each other. Connor couldn't help but smile, they were so small and innocent, he hoped that none of what happened to his friends would ever happen to these kids. He frowned; he was going to make sure that these kids were going to be safe from problems like these, he won't let anything happen to them.

He heard exclamations of surprise at the top and saw Hope, Unità, and Vita standing there. He hurried up and climbed faster. "What is it?"

Hope looked back at him with a big smile and shiny eyes. "It's a huge wooden statue!"

Connor opened his eyes in surprise, he raced up. _Could it be...?_ He arrived at the side of the three and looked at what had them very surprised. He smiled. _No way! It probably came out during the day._ He looked back at the town. _How did no one notice?_ Now he looked down on the slope then back at the huge thing in front of him. _It probably hid it from the rest of the town._

"Come on, let's check it out!" He said with a smile to the little ones, who nodded excitedly in agreement. They all started to climb down, while Connor observed the beauty that he had in front of his eyes.

It was a huge totem pole, probably a bit bigger than his HQ; The wood had white strikes as if it was made of a certain type of wood, and it had two big tall ears on top that resembled the ones that Unità's alter-ego, Black Ear, had. The top door was Lilac and it was a circular shape with a spiral white shape in between the eyes. The middle door was Honey yellow and had a more triangular shape with eyes that had a scalene shape. In the middle of the eyes, it had a diamond-shaped white symbol. The last door, the bottom one, was of a Citrus orange color and the shape of the eyes was of a parallelogram; It had a white triangle between the eyes.  
 _  
It's pretty unique, I guess every totem pole it's like that._ He remembered the day they discovered that Foxwolf, Snowfox, and Badgerclaw had an HQ of themselves. It had appeared overnight and something had guided them there. Their HQ was underground as they all carried an Animal Totem that usually used undergrounds. Now he wondered something... when they became PJ Masks the first time they had vehicles at such a young age. Did these kids too?

He was eager each second to find out what that totem pole had, just like them. It reminded him of the eagerness he had when he was younger, waiting for every night to fight nighttime villains and show how good he was at it, even though sometimes he annoyed his friends. Those were good times...

He felt someone pushing him and saw Unità and Hope pushing him from behind. He looked around and realized that he finished climbing down and was at the beginning of the valley ahead. "Come on! We want to see what's in there!" Hope exclaimed.

Unità was forcing through his back with a strength that caught Connor by surprise. "Ugh, you are so heavy!" She complained. He giggled and moved to one side, and both Unità and Hope fell to the ground with an _Oof_. "Hey!" He smiled at her maliciously and she arched an eyebrow. He looked ahead and then back at them.

"Race you to it!" He said and heard exclamations of surprise from Unità and Hope, while Vita ahead giggled and started running before him. He was running slower than he actually could, just so the other two could catch up to him. He heard steps behind him and giggles and sped up more, though he was surprised when Unità passed him easily, followed by Hope. He smiled with determination. "Oh, where do you think you are going?"

He was running at their speed now, by their side, and Unità tried effortly to pass him. She looked back at her friends. "Vita, Hope! Come on!" He heard the other two speeding up and saw them by his side now. He felt hands grabbing his left arm, and shortly after others grabbing his right arm. He was pulled down and he was suddenly on the ground, not understanding what happened. Hope and Vita jumped over him with a great leap and kept running, giggling and looking at him with mischievous smiles. He understood immediately; they planned on tricking him.

"Hey, come back here!" He said standing up. Once he reached the totem pole, the three of them were laughing and celebrating their victory. He stopped panting, and let out his breath in a heavy way. "Where did you learned to do that?" He was actually impressed by the tactic the kids used; it was the right combination of a surprise attack.

Hope, who was smiling excitedly for all that happened, answered. "There are a lot of bad guys out there that tried to catch us or steal from us several times, but _we_ are intelligent and learned all of their moves, so we created ours against them."

Vita burst in jumping with a smile and shining eyes. "We call it the Pull-Down Trick!"

Connor was intrigued by the move, he made a note to himself to learn more of it. He giggled. "Well, it worked pretty well on me. Good teamwork!" He said, rubbing Vita's and Hope's hair with his hands, making them smile and laugh.

"Hey! What about me?!" Said Unità joining in. Connor grabbed her and rubbed her hair as well, while she struggled to release his grip on her. All of them laughed, and Connor didn't know exactly why, but the laughs of these kids made him feel warm and cheerful. He smiled sweetly at them; being with them made him feel happy... yeah, _happy._

Once they all calmed down, he said: "Let's check what's inside." He walked to the side, waiting to see a door like in his HQ, but the door wasn't there. He arched an eyebrow and rounded the totem pole, finding the door in the back of it. The door wasn't so different from their's, the only thing that changed was the pad that would lead them inside. This one was a small circle with a lent and a grey screen on top.

Vita approached curiously, looking the pad. "How does it work?"

"I... have no idea." Usually, back on HQ, he would put his hand over the pad of the door and HQ would let them inside, but this door wasn't like that. There was a lent in the circle that was under a grey screen; he had an idea. "Vita, come here." She approached and stood by his side as she cast a glance at the circle and then at him, questioningly. He kneeled down next to her and said: "Can you look into the circle? I wanna try something."

Vita looked back on the door's lent, confused and a little scared of what it could do if she looked into it, but she trusted Connor. Connor was a cool guy, and so far he hasn't done anything to harm her or her family. She did as told and looked inside the lent, and several seconds later of nothing happening, she removed her eye from the lent. "Nothing happened."

Connor kept looking at the door's lent, wondering how they could go inside. The eye thing didn't work, he expected the door to read the eye of the little girl, but since nothing happened then something else might let them. The hand thing he usually does wasn't an option, the lent was too small for his or their hands. If it has a lent, then surely it has to read something, right? Connor kneeled in front of it, looking more inside. It was small enough to read something small, but what? What was small enough to read for the lent? Maybe their fingerprints? No, their fingers, even though they were thin and small, were still too big for the lent.

Connor growled, what could it be? Something smaller, but what? He looked at the kids, Unità and Hope were sitting on the ground playing palms, while Vita was chanting a small tone and playing with her new ring. Connor opened his eyes in realization. The rings, of course! "Vita come here! I think I know how to get inside." She approached once more and Connor gently grabbed her hand. "Make a fist." He told her and she did as told. Connor showed Vita's Lilac ring to the lent, and there was a small shine on it, a few seconds later the grey screen illuminated and showed an animal's paw on screen. A Chinchilla's paw print.

The door opened while Connor and Vita exchanged a smile. He heard gasps in the background and exclamations of surprise. "How did you do that?" That was Hope. He looked back at them while Vita waited on the door so it wouldn't close.

"The lent you see here? It reads your rings, which means it recognizes you as the owner of your HQ, then it lets you in." Connor explained. Hope seemed to be jumping up and down slightly, and Unità was shaking just beside him with a big white toothy smile. _They are so eager to find out everything._ "Let's go inside."

He led them inside, into the first room, which was the bottom one. Once inside, he saw a large, brown and orange room, illuminated with saturated lights. On the opposite side, Connor saw the orange door with the two eyes, which served both as windows. In the middle of the whole room, there was a soccer field, but it only covered the middle; in the extremes, there were solid wooden paths, in which they were standing now. In both sides of the soccer field, there were two rooms, one empty, and the other one had a couch with a small wooden table in front, some nice plants decorating the place, and a small TV. On top of those things there was a small mezzanine, in which from the looks of it, it had a small bed and a nightstand with a light.

The room looked rustic to Connor, and it relaxed him for some reason. He looked at the empty room on the other side. _Maybe there's supposed to be a vehicle?_ He came to the conclusion that the empty room was for that. Hope seemed the most interested in the whole room. He smiled. "This is your room," Connor said, looking from his peripheral vision to the smaller boy, the other boy smiled and clenched his fist together while jumping up and down slightly.

"It's so cool! It reminds me of my old room!" He let out a gasp and clenched his lips together. Connor looked at him; Vita and Unità too. "I-uh- f-forgot I said that..." Connor put his hand on the boy's head and he looked up to him. Connor smiled sweetly at him and stroke his head; the boy gave back the smile.

"Let's keep exploring." He walked away from the room, entering a hallway that leads to a much smaller place. He was half-head down from touching the ceiling. The kids snickered at that sight and walked past him; They were eyeing curiously the three platforms that were at the end of the room.

"What are these?" Vita asked.

He giggled at them and bent down to their side. "These are elevators. They will take us up to the next room, hopefully. All you have to do is step on them and stand still, so they censor you." Hope was about to ask something but Connor cut him off. "And no, they are not dangerous, I always step on them." The two girls gleamed eyes at each other, stepped in and stood still, one second later they took them up. Hope looked at the elevator. "Aren't you gonna go with them?" Connor asked.

Now the ginger boy looked at him with his orange eyes. "Won't you come with us?" At the exact same moment, the two others elevators came down.

He smiled at Hope. "I'll be right behind you."

Hope looked back at the elevator and said: "Okay..." He stepped in and stood still, waiting for the elevator to take him up. He had a frightened look when the elevator took him up and Connor laughed. He also stepped into the elevator and was took to the next room. When he arrived at the pastel yellow room, Hope was waiting for him not so far away from the elevator. "I don't think I like those things." He said, and Connor shook his head with a little smile.

He took a look around, this room wasn't so different from his; there were cloud shaped lights hanging from the ceiling, illuminating a very pastel yellow light. There were rock pillars not so far away from the room, decorated in its center with white stars and fairy lights. The walls were Aspen Gold, but over them, there was another set of walls that didn't reach the roof, and from them, a pastel yellow illuminated the main walls. There was also a tree, just like the one back at his HQ, but this one had leaves and yellow Syringa flowers; the tree was also decorated in fairy lights.

Connor saw two small rooms at the end of Unità's HQ Floor, and once more, one was empty and the other was prepared for someone. The second room was of a Chai Tea color, over the room was a mezzanine just like in Hope's room, and it had also a bed and a nightstand; a ladder leads up to the mezzanine. Under it, there were pastel yellow Puffs and a Dandelion carpet.

"Who's room is this? If Hope's was the last one." Asked Vita. Connor looked at her with an eyebrow raised and a smile.

"This is Unità's." He heard a gasp of joy coming from Unità. "So that means that the next one-"

"-It's mine!" Vita finished excitedly.

Connor closed his eyes and nodded gently. _She's really smart..._ He thought and then let his chest be filled with warmth. _They all are._ He saw all of them rush to the elevators, and hop on them, except for Hope who walked cautiously into it. He waited for them to go up and then stepped in another of the elevators when they came down. When he reached the top floor, the three kids were investigating the room on their own while he examined it carefully; the Room was just like Owlette's. It had a big painting with the constellations on the ceiling, and purple flags with white stars hanged from the walls.

He saw again other two rooms like in the other two floors, one was empty and the other one wasn't. The second one had only a bed and a nightstand, several stars were stick on the walls of it, and some planets were hanging from strings that were attached to the ceiling.

Hope appeared by his side, looking around he said: "It's all nice, why do we have all of this?"

Unità interrupted him. "Are we training here?" She was eager to learn how to use her powers and Hope looked annoyed at her but looked around once more, not saying one word. Connor noticed that the little boy made with his hand a fist and started rubbing his thumb to the side of his index finger; he raised an eyebrow. _I'm gonna watch him more._ Connor knew that the gesture he was doing was because the boy was unable to speak many of the stuff he thought, so instead of saying something, he decided to do that. He knew that Hope was doing that because he used to have a habit like that when he was younger, either as Catboy or regular Connor.

He crossed his arms and let out a deep breath. "Not here, outside. There's more space for what I want to teach you." Hope looked expectantly at him. Connor hadn't forgotten. "You have all of this because you are PJ Masks now. Stuff that is stocked here might help you find or solve problems in your city. Besides, this is your new home." He knew that the instant he saw the small rooms with the beds on each floor.

"But we left our stuff back at our Hideout!" Unità exclaimed.

Connor walked to the elevators, and the other three followed. "I'll go for them later, now follow me, it's time to start training." They all left, with the kids jumping around him like hares.

* * *

It was already late at night, and Greg was tired of waiting on the bus terminal. It was 1:45 AM and, looking at the others, Greg could tell he wasn't the only one tired. Well, he was tired of _waiting_ , the others were tired and about to sleep on their standing spots. He giggled on the inside, he slept like five hours back home. At some point, he sat on the ground and started playing with his phone, or just taking some pictures for his Snapchat.

They've arrived 1 AM at the Bus Terminal and were waiting for their own, and it wasn't like this bus was going to take them directly, they had to take _two_ to go to Milennia Town; this one that had the stop in Seaflower Bay, and other, that was going to take them to Milennia Town.

He suddenly got bored with his cellphone, nothing interesting happened in it so he was wasting his battery. A chill wind blew and it carried a salty scent, which Greg guessed it was because of the sea. The port wasn't so far away from the Bus Station, so it made sense that the wind was stronger here than back in the city. Far away he could low-key hear ships horns.

He got chills on his arms and decided to take from his luggage a green and white letterman jacket that Cameron gifted him in his Fourteen birthday two years ago. He put it on and find himself sighing when the jacket was still loose. He heard someone giggling and turned around to find Riley watching him.

"Still loose?" Riley asked and Greg nodded. He spun around avoiding Riley's gaze, but couldn't avoid him when he sat by his side. "You are really small, you know? Someone would've expected you to grow a little bit taller, instead, you are still the same height you were when I met you." He joked.

Greg put his face on his hands and made an annoyed face. "Your point?"

"There's none, I'm just..." He looked back at the others and his tone dropped like dead mice, Greg saw his lighten expression grow a little bit dark. "... trying to light up the mood, but I guess it's not working..." He shut up and looked straight ahead, into the marshes that faced the Bus Station. Now the place was quiet, except for the cry of some babies near and small talks, people were tired. A small current sounded close, and crickets and owls filled the quiet of the nighttime.

Riley shifted to his side and Greg leaned on his arm; he was really cold and the boy to his side was really warm. He smiled, sorta like Connor in winter. Everyone would always mock him because out of his group of friends, Connor would always remain warm in winter, people like to hug him or be close to him when that time of the year comes, often annoying him. Though Greg knew that Connor was _really_ cuddly with people close to him. Connor, Amaya and he would always gather in one of their homes and watch movies together while Amaya and he cuddled Connor. He giggled at the memory and felt a pang of emptiness on his chest. It's been two years since they've done that.

He looked at Riley and the Asian boy was watching back at him, curious to know what was on his mind. Riley smiled mischievously. "Seems like you are comfy in there." Greg's face turned red and he instantly sat up like before. "No, no! I was just mocking, Greg. I don't mind." Greg sighed and wrapped himself, the jacket was warm but not warm enough to make justice for the chill wind. Right now Greg wished he would've brought his winter jacket; he was a really cold person.

"One cannot cuddle anymore without being mocked... I don't see what's wrong with it! It's something normal, everyone does it!" He said while Riley laughed, they both sighed and Greg found himself smiling slightly. Looking at the stars above, he said: "You know, you did lighten the mood. Yesterday you seemed annoyed by this trip, now you are trying to light up the mood."

Riley leaned himself into Greg, and Greg relaxed at the touch. "Well, yeah, I'm still kinda annoyed about it, but it's going to even worst if everyone had a long face on the trip. I prefer to change that than to cope with it." Greg looked at him, and Riley looked back. "Also, what were you laughing about moments ago? If you don't mind me asking."

Greg looked how a duck was walking with her ducklings following her a few lengths away, they stepped between the marshes and a few moments later he heard a _splash_. They must've gotten in the water. "I was just thinking about... Connor..." He smiled half-heartedly. "It's cold tonight and I just remembered how he always is warm at Winter. Remember your first two Winters with us when we told you that fact about Connor?" He looked at Riley amusedly.

Riley looked ahead with an amused expression. "Yeah! I couldn't believe it, so I waited for the next Winter too see if Connor was warm like the past Winter." They both laughed and sighed. "What a bunch of good moments..."

Greg stopped smiling when he felt as if a thorn was pushed into his heart. "Yeah... I just wish that things could be the same. No Magicster, no Broken Masks, no Great Masks War, no betrayals..." He sighed. "Everything was just fine as it was!"

Riley put an arm around Greg's shoulders and shook him slightly comfortingly, he spoke up. "I know. The bunch of stuff that changed over the course of one year is amazing, but even though I hate what Connor has done-" He risked a glance behind them, and Greg followed, noticing how he cast a warm glance to Federico and the others. "I would hate for all of this going another way." He looked at Greg, and Greg could feel the intensity of the emotions Riley cast from his Royal purple eyes. "We lost things, yeah, but we also gained valuable things." At the exact same moment, laughs sounded behind them and he saw Federico and Silver laughing while Amaya explained something with exaggerated gestures. "I prefer to let go of those things before losing what I value the most."

The quiet of the night was disturbed when a horn sounded ahead, they both looked to one side of the Station and saw the bus arriving. Riley stood up and held a hand to Greg. "Come on, our bus is here." When Greg took it and stood up, he proceeded to ask: "Who has the tickets?"

"Amaya does, let's go with her." He grabbed his stuff and followed Riley to where his stuff was. "Hey, Riley?"

"Um?"

"Would you sit with me?" Riley smiled at him and nodded. Greg liked Riley's company, the boy was calm, relaxed; he relaxed Greg. He was more relaxed now than feeling anxious about leaving the city without his mother knowing, and the thought of Connor wandering out there alone. Besides of Amaya and Connor -formerly-, Riley was one of the closest friends he had. They shared _much_ stuff together, he was the first one to talk to Riley when the Asian boy changed schools in fifth grade. His father Daniel was the one that urged him into talking to Riley and looking at the Asian boy now, he silently thanked his father for doing so.

Amaya saw them approach and with tickets in hand, she handed them theirs. "Here, I believe you two have seats together. Silver is going in the front, and I'm sitting with Federico. Okay?" They both nodded. When the bus stopped, they all went to left their luggage in the compartment of the bus and went back to the line of people waiting to aboard it.

Once on the second floor of the Bus, Greg sat on the window's side, he liked to see the outsides when he traveled. Riley shortly after sat next to him, and he bends the sit back so he wouldn't bother Riley. He heard Amaya and Federico quarreling with the guard outside about their ID Card, but after a few moments, both walked past them with annoyed faces. He looked at Riley and smiled amusedly. "Guess you didn't have any problem boarding, did ya?" Riley looked back at him with his lips clenched together and his eyes half-closed. He knew the other boy didn't like to be teased about his age.

"You mocked my shortness, don't you dare to argue." Greg snickered.

Riley rolled his eyes and let his face be decorated with an amused expression. He laughed. "Fair enough."

Greg looked outside when he felt the bus starting to move. He said. "How much until Seaflower Bay? I get dizzy easily on cars and stuff."

Riley sighed. "Two and a half hour, three maximum. Then from there, we have another four hours until Milennia Town."

Greg opened his eyes and turn around to look at him wildly. "That much?! _Beautiful._ " He leaned on the chair exaggeratedly and a few moments later a paper bag was tossed into his lap. "What is this for?" When he received no answer, only a grin, he gasped indignantly and made the paper bag a ball and threw it right at Riley's face, while the other one laughed heartedly. "Your face needs it more than I do."

"Are you sure about that?" Greg aimed for Riley's sides, only to be blocked by the other boy's hands. Riley started wriggling when Greg tried to reach his sides, and both stopped when their seat got kicked and heard a 'sh' from somewhere in the bus. They both giggled silently and Greg whispered: "Rude."

The other boy leaned close to Greg and whispered back. "Very much." Both laughed and fooled around a little bit more until they both grew tired and decided to sleep as much and comfortable as they could.

* * *

"So, are we going to do something or...?"

"Unità, shh! He's thinking!"

"But I'm bored, Hope!"

"You are distracting him!" Answered Hope annoyed. Unità looked at him with a frown and pushed him to the ground, where Hope shook the dust off his head. "Hey!"

Vita, Unit and Hope, more like Cotton, Black Ear and Crash, were waiting on the field just a few feet away from their HQ (or new home) and the forest that frontiered them. They were watching Catboy walk to one side to another. He was thinking what to do, what to teach them first. _Should I teach them how to use their powers synchronized? OR should I teach them how to manage them?_ After a few twenty minutes of passing around, Catboy thought that the second option was the best, and as soon as he chose what to do, he knew exactly what exercise would help them get there.

He looked at the three of them, precisely at Unità and Hope to cast each other death glares, and said. "First of all, you two stop fighting." When Unit and Hope heard him, they instantly stopped and sat like before. "Second, what did I say about calling ourselves our real names during the night?"

Vita jumped in eagerly. "Not to, 'cause we might reveal our identities to villains!" Catboy nodded and she puffed her chest with pride, unlike Hope and Unità, who were shaking their pelts a little to end with the embarrassment.

"Exactly, _Cotton_." He glared at the other two. "So from now on, _Black Ear, Crash,_ we are going to do that." The other two nodded embarrassed. "Now follow me, I got something to practice." Cotton jumped excitedly and walked to him, while Black Ear showed a big white teeth smile; she pushed Crash to one side and trotted to him, seeing at the same time Crash roll his eyes annoyedly at her and walk to him just behind her. Catboy thought. _We'll work on that._

He headed for the forest, which was a forest of different kinds of pines. He, precisely, headed for the first pine he saw and that he thought it would be perfect for what he had in mind: a Scots Pine. The pines of the forest were _huge_. When Catboy saw it from far away, he didn't think that it would be that huge, or the pines _that_ tall. Now that he had come near it, he could see the magnificence of it. The little he could saw of the insides were like a nightmare, the huge pines seemed to cover most of the sky, so it was really dark in there, except for a few splotches of moonlight that made it seems as if the forest was of a Swamp-ish color.

He stopped, not taking his eyes away from a pine cone in the first branch of the pine, which was not so close from the floor, but not so high that kids wouldn't reach it. The kids followed his sight and while Cotton and Crash seemed to have trouble spotting what Catboy was seeing, Black Ear spotted it easily. "Are we going to do something with that pine cone?"

Catboy was surprised at Black Ear's amazing sight. _I might need to check on that later, it might be useful._ "Well spotted, Black Ear." She puffed her chest with pride. "We are going to use that pinecone as a target." He stated, looking at the kids who were confused. "We are going to test your powers with it, the first one to touch or throw it down wins."

The three kids cheered and jumped happily. "Yay! A game! This is gonna be fun!" Said Cotton.

Catboy nodded eagerly. "I know right?" He was really eager to start training them, he gave it thought last night when he woke up from a nightmare. He cared about this kids as if he knew them his whole life. They were like the little siblings he never got to have.

He breathed out with a smile. "Okay, Cotton, you start. Come over here." He signaled the spot beside him. "Focus on the pinecone over there," He signaled with his finger all the way to the pinecone so Cotton could see it. "You see it?"

She struggled to find the pinecone. "Uh-umm not... really..." She was trying to adjust her eyes to see the pinecone before finally spot it. "Oh! I see it, Catboy! I see it!"

He smiled at her. "Good, now, before summoning your powers, you must say the word 'Chinchilla' before, okay?" She nodded. "We are gonna try the different powers that I have, with you. Like-" He spun around and targeted another pinecone. "my _Super Cat Stripes!_ "

The Cat Stripe went directly to the pinecone, grabbing it. Catboy got a hold of the cat stripe and pulled the pinecone from the pine. The pinecone ended in his hand and he spun around to face the children. Crash had glimmering eyes while he smiled, and Cotton and Black Ear showed admiration. "That was amazing!" The three of them said in unison.

Catboy purred warmly. "Thanks... Now, are you ready to try Cotton?"

"Yeah!" She jumped and asked. "What do I do?"

Catboy thought for a second what to tell her. He inspected her up and down, watching her fluffy fur and big ears. Her sight wasn't her strong point so he discarded any Visual Powers. Maybe she could use stripes like his from the markings of her suit. "Do you think you could try saying Chinchilla Stripes?" Catboy asked he was curious to know which powers she had.

Cotton nodded and making a funny pose, she yelled. "Chinchilla Stripes!" There were a few seconds of silence before she shrugged. "Nothing."

Catboy frowned. What kind of powers could a Chinchilla-themed hero have? He noticed that she had big and round ears, maybe she had some kind of hearing power, like his Super Cat Ears. Before telling her what to do next, he inspected her more. She had long, thick grey fur, but he didn't think of any power that might come with it. He noticed that the palms of her hands had pads like the ones Gekko have on his hands, maybe he could try something with them. "Okay, now try, uh-" He thought of how she should call it." Super Chinchilla Ears?"

Cotton nodded and did the same as before. "Super Chinchilla Ears!" She concentrated hard enough, and Connor expected something to happen, but after a few minutes she gave up and shook her head in defeat. Catboy sighed in defeat again, but composed himself again and thought. What could he do?... He could hear Cotton said different things in the background, along with Black Ear and Crash. Maybe she had claws? Maybe...fly? He pinned his ears against his head with a serious expression. _Fly? Really?_

He spun around to look at the kids and as soon as he did, he heard Crash say something and then out of sudden an orange flash made Catboy jump in place, and Crash was no longer in the ground. He blinked several times to process what just happened.

"What the fu- freak?!" He fastly corrected himself then looked up to see Crash hanging from a branch. The little one let out a cry of fear.

"Catboy help! I'm gonna fall!" He had his arms and legs around the branch as if his life depended on it, and it did, the branch was really far away from the ground.

Catboy lashed his tail and headed for the tree. "Don't worry, Crash, I'm coming!" He used his claws to grip the wood of the tree and started climbing until he reached the branch Crash was hanging from. He looked down and saw the other two girls looking sick worried for them, and with reason, it was higher than Catboy originally thought. He jumped from the bark to the branch and it moved slightly with a cracking sound.

"It's gonna break!" Crash cried out.

"It won't! Calm down!" He didn't know if he was reassuring the small one or himself. He started to put his feet one in front of the other, using his tail to balance himself at the same time. He was near Crash now, but the branch was becoming smaller and Catboy feared it would break in two if he made a wrong step in. He kneeled down and used his claws to keep himself from falling, and then with one hand tried to reach Crash. When he couldn't, he tried to make one more step, but the branch cracked and Catboy knew he couldn't do this alone. _Think, you been in worst, higher places._ He took a deep breath and calmly said. "Crash, I'll need you to cooperate with me, too." He noticed that Crash had claws, really long claws. "Use your claws to move towards me."

Crash looked at him from under the brach. "M-my claws?"

Catboy pointed to one of his hands to Crash and showed the tip of his fingers. "These ones, use these ones!" He was using the claws on his feet now to get a strong grip, which was a painful one.

"But I'm gonna fall!" Crash cried.

"If something happens, I'll be here for you!" Catboy said, he looked back at the branch and saw it breaking, they needed to hurry. That's when Crash mumbled something that Catboy didn't understand, then gripping hard his claws on the bark of the branch, he moved towards Catboy. Catboy smiled. "Yeah, that's it! Keep it going!" Once Crash was under him, he swiftly reached for him and pulled him up, taking a strong grip on the boy. The branch moved wildly and Catboy almost fell down, noticing the branch about to break and tossing Crash on his back he raced and then jumped onto the tree, using his claws to keep himself on there. "GIRLS, MOVE!"

Black Ear and Cotton jumped out of the way in time before the branch hit the ground with a really loud noise. He noticed that Crash was trembling and spoke up. "Shh, it's okay," He was agitated himself. "We're gonna be fine now, let's get down." He started to carefully go down the tree with Crash holding onto him slightly trembling. When he felt the grass under his feet, he thanked the stars and put Crash down.

Crash plumped into the ground and put his cheek against the grass. "I'm not leaving the ground again!"

Catboy approached the girls and asked. "Are you both okay?" They both nodded and then ran up to Crash and chatted with him a little bit. Catboy had time to process it all and remembering how was the first time he leaped like that. Now that he knew that Jumping was one of Crash's powers, he sighed in relief and exhaustion; a jumping power was more difficult than it seemed. He knew that jumping while doing other stuff was hard and that one bad move could affect the fall. Last year battling with Black Spot he jumped after him but without thinking to where he was heading, only being led by anger, he ended up breaking his left arm when he landed. He didn't want Crash to go the same way, especially because he didn't have any Medical Insurance to take him to the hospital.

Now that he thought about that, he wondered if the kids had any injections of the sorts. For what he analyzed, Crash had at some point a family, so maybe he had some of when he was a baby, he didn't know about the girls, though. _How long had those two been on the streets?_ He knew that they both found Hope, but they didn't say anything about themselves. _Maybe they don't know or they just had been born on the streets..._ Catboy thought of one last thing. _Maybe they abandoned them when they were babies..._ If that was the case, then that means at some point someone looked over them on the streets, but if that was true then, where were they?

He shook his head, maybe he could ask Black Ear or Cotton later. He headed towards them and asked. "How did you do it, Crash? Did you said Super Bandicoot Jump?"

Crash nodded. "Yeah, we were just trying to say stuff that came to our minds and when I said that I jumped really high, it was scary!"

Catboy made an amused glance at the way Crash expressed it. "Well, at least we know that Jumping is one of your powers."

"Now we need to figure the rest of them, and ours, too!" Black Ear said determinedly.

"Well, what you were doing moments ago seemed to work. Why don't you keep trying?" Catboy looked at trees. "B-But stay away from the trees, just in case." They walked over to the center of the clearing between the forest and their HQ. Catboy sat on the ground, watching the kids having fun saying silly things and jumping around while doing so. Now Catboy was just watching them play remembering when sometimes he and his friends would sneak up at night and fool around the city with their powers.

Cotton and Black Ear were facing each other now with mischievous smiles and Cotton, who was in front of Connor, faced Black Ear. "I'm way more powerful than you! I can take you down with my Super Chinchilla Paws!" She said, moving her hands playfully, Catboy snickered at that and watched Black Ear expectantly.

"Oh yeah? I can take you down with my _Super Caracal Roar!_ " She roared, but at the same time the roar sounded all around and sent him and Cotton flying away, he caught the Chinchilla girl mid-air before hitting the ground. Cotton's fluffy fur was all fuzzy and Catboy's head was full of leaves and pinecones. Black Ear and Crash ran up to them.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know it was going to do that!" Black Ear apologized. Catboy stood up and took the leaves from Cotton's head and put her on the ground, then shake himself all of the stuff he had attached.

"It's okay, we're okay, right?" Cotton nodded with a smile and Catboy looked down at Black Ear. "Super Caracal Roar, huh? We had something similar back home in our HQ, but it's called Mega Meow." Catboy chuckled.

Now the three of them seemed interested. "We? There are more people like us?" Asked Black Ear. The three of them sat in front of Catboy expectantly, waiting for him to tell more. He smiled and sat in front of them with his legs crossed.

"Yes, there's more like us, a lot more!" He said, remembering the events of the Great Masks War. "Not only people like us, but there are also villains too, terrible villains that can control robots, that can levitate buildings, werewolves!" He told excitedly. The kids looked at him with curiosity and shining eyes.

"Robots?" Crash asked. "How big?"

Catboy extended his arms wide open. "This big! And they are really tall too, they are under the command of a boy called Romeo. Oh, and there's this girl that has moon powers and control a swarm of moths."

"Yuck, I hate moths!" Said Black Ear making a disgusted expression. "They are small and they are everywhere, once one tried to get in my mouth!"

Catboy laughed alongside Crash and Cotton. "Then you'll probably fear Luna."

"That's her name?" Asked Crash curiously, he narrowed his eyes and asked. "How does she look like?"

Catboy thought of how to describe her. "Well, she is tall, has white and black sparkly hair, uh... She has blue eyes, and black clothes, oh, and a mask that covers half of her face! I mean, she's not a villain anymore, she's more like, uh, an anti-hero? I'm not really sure anymore..."

"I knew I've seen her, I dreamed of her before!"

Cotton motioned her ears. "I think I did too, but she was with some kind of Ninja."

Catboy pinned down his ears in confusion. "Night Ninja?" How could these kids he never met and that were _way_ younger than him possibly know either Luna and Night Ninja? Maybe they knew it because of the Great Masks War? But that was impossible, the animal totems made sure that no one besides his team and the villains that helped them could remember what happened. He frowned, if the Broken Masks would've had Animal Totems, then maybe the whole problem could've been solved... He shook his head. "What have you dreamed of? How long ago?" He asked.

Crash and Cotton tapped their chins thoughtfully. Cotton answered first. "Not so long ago." Crash nodded in agreement. "I dreamed of her and that Ninja stealing some kind of shiny pink stone from a big place full of weird stuff!" Catboy's ears tensed. _The Moonstone on the museum... but that was so many years ago! It's impossible._

"I dreamed of her with a green masked boy but they didn't seem to do anything wrong, I think they were running away though..." Crash said. Catboy couldn't believe his cat ears at all, was this some kind of dream? Nightmare? Something in between? There was no way that these kids had dreamed of Luna, Night Ninja, and Gekko before! He looked at Black Ear.

"What about you? Had you had some kind of dream like that?" _Please say no._

Black Ear seemed calm now. "There was this nightmare once... it was really scary! There was a huge black monster that looked like a serpent and his pet attacked a boy with green eyes, and then he looked at me and said that everything was going to change and the serpent tried to attack me!" She said shivering a little bit.

 _Magicster and Drakko!_

Crash looked at her. "Oh yeah, I remember that. You woke up crying in the middle of the night saying they were coming for you, none of us slept that night." He looked at Catboy. "That was several weeks ago."

Catboy didn't know how to react to such shocking dreams, more like a vision of past things. How that was possible? Their animal totems showed them that? Why? Catboy didn't want to think about it, he already had a million of question floating on his mind about a lot of things. When the next time he sees Lightning Fur, he is going to ask some several questions; he deserved answers. He stood up and the Petit Masks followed him.

"Let's keep testing, there are a few tricks I wanna show you."

* * *

Greg awoke when he felt commotion on the bus, beside him, Riley shifted too and both shared a sleepy and confused look. Greg took a glance at the hour: 3 AM. He frotted his eyes and then stretched. "I think we are in Seaflower Bay."

Riley leaned on his seat and looked through the small hallway of the bus, he arched an eyebrow and made different gests before turning back to Greg. "Yes, we are. Amaya said it's the first stop, so if we don't want to go to Alstroemeria Center, we need to get out now." Alstroemeria Center was another city near Seaflower Bay, it wasn't far, but Greg didn't want to get lost already. They both got up and with the tickets on hand, they followed Silver, Amaya, and Federico down the bus. They approached a man waiting for them on the side of the bus and asked them to show him their tickets. When they did, he opened the compartment and started asking them which one was their luggage. After all of his friends got theirs, Greg pointed to a long, green and yellow one under a big blue suitcase. The man got it out as if it weren't really that heavy and handed it to him, Riley quickly tipped him and then they headed to the Terminal.

Amaya yawned. "Wait here, Riley and I are going to retire the tickets. I need your IDs." Federico and Greg handed it to her, but Silver walked to both Amaya and Riley.

"I'm going with you, I wanna see something." Amaya nodded and the three of them entered the place, leaving Federico and Greg in an awkward silence; the calm of the night wasn't any better. Greg sat on the ground and put his luggage over his legs, Seaflower Bay was a really cold place, and they were already in Spring. When he looked up, he saw Federico in his cellphone, but he had a frown on his face. Greg looked away and scoffed. _Unbelievable._

"Is there _any_ problem?" Greg jumped at Federico's voice, he looked at the pink-eyed boy with a flat expression. Obviously, the other boy didn't take that so well.

"I'm waiting for you to snap at me, you know, _for Connor._ Lately, you'd been voicing him, haven't you?" Spat Greg.

Federico let out an exasperated sigh. "And you are _still_ bitching about it, how surprising." He retorted with sarcasm. He looked at Greg untouched by his meantone. "If I hadn't voiced him, Amaya would've done it."

Greg stood up and looked at him through narrow, menacing eyes. "Amaya is upset with him as I'm."

"And how are you so sure? You hadn't let her do anything for the past two months, always telling her how to feel, you didn't let her express herself!" Federico stood wide. "For what matters, you've been telling _everyone_ how to feel, how to _behave_." He gestured his hands around, mimicking Greg. "' _Avoid Connor, he is a traitor.' 'Don't talk with him, he is a traitor.' 'He tore the PJ Masks apart!' 'Oh, but he is surely wrong 'cause he **is a traitor!**_" He snapped his teeth at Greg and Greg slightly flinched.

"Well, he-"

Federico didn't let him finish as he curled his lip and looked down at him with dark, pink eyes. "If you ask me, your toxic behavior is what is keeping us apart." He put his finger on Greg's nose menacingly and the height difference made Greg really flinch this time. "Not everyone thinks like you, _Greg._ You only hate Connor for something that was going to end sooner or later, and you can keep bitching about it as much as you want, but that fact? Yeah, it will never change." Slowly, he put his finger under Greg's chin and made him look stare deeply into his eyes. Grimly, with a deep and low voice, he said. "No one dares to tell you, Greg, but you are the reason we are falling apart." He let go of Greg just in time the others came out.

"We have the tickets, we need to go to the stop 54, though," Amaya said. Everything went quiet when they sensed the tension in the air. "Did something happen?"

"Nothing that you should worry about, let's go," Federico answered without taking his eyes from Greg. He bent down to grab his luggage then started walking alongside Silver and Amaya. Riley kept looking at him, and Greg shivered a little before gesturing the Asian boy to follow him.

Riley walked beside him and without looking at him, he asked. "What did he said? I know him well enough to know he didn't shut up."

"Can we not talk about it?" Greg felt a tightness on his chest, wanting to ask if what Federico said was true, but he shut up and headed ahead with Riley by his side. Was he really screwing their team? Was he the cause of everything?

 _You only hate Connor for something that was going to end sooner or later._ He knew that wasn't true, at least he didn't want to think it was true. What really hurt the most wasn't Luna, but Connor lying to him. They knew each other since they can remember, always confiding in each other... but these last years? He felt as if they were parting ways and that scared Greg to death, he couldn't think of a life in which Connor wasn't there. But now he seemed to be pushing him away, did he really wanted that? The ache of Connor's lies made Greg more confused, he didn't want anything to do with Connor, but at the same time, he still couldn't imagine a life where he is not there. Greg stopped alongside the others and settled down his stuff, only to hear their bus coming just in time. Looking at Federico one last time, he wondered.

Should he apologize?

* * *

"Why haven't I discovered my powers yet?"

Catboy found himself looking with pity at Cotton, who was now upset that she didn't know her powers yet, unlike Crash and Black Ear, whose Bandicoot Jump and Caracal Roar were found an hour and a half ago. She didn't have any luck, trying everything that came to her mind. He kneeled down beside her. "I'm sure we just need to try more stuff, Cotton, don't give up."

"But it's been a long time already!" She protested.

"Yeah, we are bored!" Black Ear expressed.

Catboy looked at her with a severe look and she clenched her lips together. He looked back at Cotton and smiled gently at her. "Let's keep trying, Cotton."

Cotton crossed her arms and pinned her ears against her head. "I don't want to, I'm never going to find them." She pouted. Catboy didn't know what other things a Chinchilla could have, what features could small creatures like them have? Maybe he could ask Lightning Fur tonight when he sleeps, that'll surely help. He thought of other ways she could help him and other ways she could forget about the whole ordeal. His ears tensed when an idea came.

"I'm going to ask my animal totem tonight if he can help me find yours if I get an answer we'll test them out later, okay? Does that sound good?" She looked at him with her arms still crossed, but she made a little smile.

"Okay, fine. But what am I gonna do now?" She asked.

"You will help me with these two, you are gonna be a mentor with me!" He said cheerfully. She gasped excitedly and jumped up and down while clapping her hands.

"Yay! I'm gonna be like you!" That phrase melted Catboy's heart and he purred in affection. He nudged her toward her teammates and the other two stood up from the ground. Cotton puffed her chest with pride and said: "I'm gonna help Catboy tonight!" Crash's and Black Ear's ears tensed and both of them ran towards Catboy.

"What? No fair! I wanna help Catboy too!" Crash protested, grabbing Catboy's right arm.

Black Ear pulled him from his left arm. "No, _I_ want to help him!"

Cotton joined the protest and gripped to his legs. "He told _me_!" The three of them swayed him to one side to another, battling each other on who would help him. He laughed before he fell to the ground and in the grass full of leaves and twigs. He shook his head to throw them off and looked amused at the kids, who were apologizing for pulling him down.

He pulled himself up but not from the ground, he stared at Crash and Black Ear. "I know you want to help me too, but you two already got your powers, don't you wanna learn how to use them?"

Both of them crossed their arms. "Well," They pinned their ears against their heads. "Yeah, but we want to help you as you helped us!" Black Ear voiced both of them, Crash nodded solemnly. He grabbed them and pulled them down into a hug.

"What about this? Cotton helps me until she finds out her powers, and once she does, you can all take turns to help me." He suggested.

The three of them smiled and nodded eagerly. "Yeah!" They yelled in unison.

He smiled. "Well, come on then, let's use your powers!" He stood up and the kids trotted behind him until they reached the center of the clearing. He signaled with his tail to Crash, and the little Bandicoot boy stood by his side. "Let's start with your Bandicoot Jump, do this." Catboy bent his hip and his legs a little bit, and moved his arms back, having them fully stretched on his side. Crash examined him before doing the same thing, Catboy noticed that he was bending his legs more than his hips and corrected him, helping the little boy with the right position. "You gotta take bend your hips if you want a strong jump, you _can_ bend your legs like that, but it won't be as strong as like bending your hips." Crash nodded and Catboy moved Crash's arms. "Now, you need to put them on your sides, stretch them wide when you do."

Crash put his arms on his sides as Catboy said, and looked at the taller boy. "Like this?" Catboy nodded and Crash looked happy.

"Now," Catboy went back to the same position. "see your arms? Move your arms strong and fastly forward. Like this." Catboy moved his arms forward as he said and he jumped high on the air, once he landed he went back to the same position but with his arms on his sides and down. Crash looked uncertain for a moment and Catboy patted him. "Bandicoots are natural jumpers, so you'll always jump higher than usual when you are transformed, even without activating your powers." Catboy started hoping to show Crash that even without his Super Cat Leap he could still jump higher.

Crash looked down to his feet and started hoping slightly, then with one impulse, he jumped almost as high as Catboy, but not quite there yet. He clenched his eyes shut and when he landed safely just beside Catboy after that huge leap, he opened his eyes and smiled. "I did it!"

Catboy showed proudness. "Amazing! Keep it going!" Crash started hoping again and laughed, he was having fun. Catboy's tail moved slightly of happiness, two hours ago this kid was afraid of doing this, now he was having fun trying it. He remembered the time Gekko was afraid of riding the Luna Board 'cause he kept complaining he wasn't good at it, now Gekko was always the first one to try stuff to be sure it was safe for his teammates. _I wonder if Crash is going to grow up to be like Greg, they are a lot alike..._ Catboy didn't notice he was purring until he heard Cotton and Black Ear giggling. He smirked and grabbed the two little girls and spun them around. "What are you laughing about, huh?!"

They all giggled together and Black Ear answered. "Your funny cat noises!"

Catboy laughed and then used his Cat Leaps to jump beside Crash, who was laughing as well, with the two girls on him. "Say it again!" Black Ear was now clinging from his back and Cotton was getting a strong grip on him while he jumped around with Crash. Not only this was fun for the kids, but it was also helping Crash make his jumps more precise; it was a win-win situation. After a few more minutes, Catboy eventually was out of breath and decided to stop but he wasn't the only one, Crash was also out of breath and was sitting on the ground panting. He put Cotton and Black Ear down and both ran up to Crash, sitting beside him and starting an animated conversation.

Catboy smiled, seeing the kids happy made him happy. He needed to know how to teach Black Ear how to use her Caracal Roar, teaching Crash was easy because he had the same power, but a roar? The only thing he knew similar to the Caracal Roar was HQ's Mega Meow and Foxwolf's Bark Howl; if only Foxwolf was there to help him, it would've been easier. Why did he refuse? _Stupid me._

"Do I have to keep going?" Crash innocent voice came from beside him. He saw the Bandicoot powered hero and sadly nodded.

"You were hoping back there, now we need to use your actual power." Catboy grabbed lashed his tail to tell the Petit Masks to follow him and headed for the forest of Pine Trees. He entered, and with hesitation, the little ones followed him. Catboy had good eyesight on the forest due to his cat powers, but he also noticed that Black Ear and Cotton were following him more comfortable than before. Black Ear looked around curiously, watching every twig, branch, tree, and leaf that she could spot, Cotton did the same but walked avoiding twigs and rocks on the ground without seeing the path, not even once. Crash, on the other hand, had a terrible time avoiding everything, but he moved his ears each time something ahead creaked or moved.

Though he noticed the abilities of Black Ear and Crash, he was more interested in Cotton's, she didn't find any of her powers yet but was amazingly walking and avoiding everything without taking even a single look. _Senses, maybe?_ His attention was drifted when his cat ears heard a huge roaring sound ahead, he wasn't the only one to hear it as Crash looked the same way he did. Did it sound like... water? Was there a river near?

"What is that sound?" Crash asked stranged.

Cotton and Black Ear looked confused. "What sound?" Both asked in unison.

Catboy looked ahead, and without looking at them, said. "I can hear it too, follow me, but be careful." He warned. Cautiously, he entered more into the forest, hearing the sound being louder with each step. At some point the line of pine trees ended and ahead the moonlight could be seen, but the roaring sound was from there, Catboy advanced and when he stepped into the moonlight, on an act of instinct he stopped the Petit Masks just a few steps away from the forest and the sound.

"What?" Cotton asked.

"It's a ravine. A deep ravine." Catboy said with a small feeling of fear. "Down the ravine, there's a river, one wrong step in here and we are all doomed." He looked back at them. "I don't want any of you here, it's _really_ dangerous, and I mean it. I'll mark the trees later to let you know where is it and where you should stop." He slightly pushed them into the forest again. "Let's go, let's keep training."

Catboy kept walking with them in the forest until he saw a patch of moonlight moonlit a small clearing ahead. The roaring sound couldn't be heard anymore and Catboy decided it was a good place for training. He looked at Cotton. "Come." Cotton smiled and hoped happily to him. He looked at Crash and Black Ear. "We are gonna play Hide-n-Seek."

"What's Hide-n-Seek?" Black Ear asked curiously. Crash spun around to look at her with gleamy eyes.

"It's a game where someone hides and the other counts to ten when you are done the counting, you have to look for the other person! I love this game!" He exclaimed.

Catboy smiled and nodded. "Exactly, but this time, we are adding your powers. I'll hide up in the trees, and Crash will have to find me." He pointed at Cotton. "Cotton will hide within the trees, not so far ahead," He warned. "-and Black Ear, you'll need to find her."

"But it's really dark in there, plus it's full of creepy sounds..." Black Ear said.

"I think I have a solution." Catboy smiled and looked at Black Ear. "Can you try saying Super Caracal Eyes?"

Black Ear nodded slowly. "Super Caracal Eyes!" When nothing happened, Catboy put his hand on his chin and then said:

"Try with Sight instead of Eyes."

Black Ear nodded and tried again. "Super Caracal Sight!" This time it worked, as her eyes started glowing yellow, just like Owlette using her Owl Eyes. Black Ear smiled and squeaked happily, she was looking all around, admiring every bit of the dark part of the forest. "It's like seeing in the daylight, but better!"

"Good, now that you can see," Crash spun around and looked at Catboy with huge puppy eyes. "Can we staaart?" He pleaded with a huge white teeth smile. Catboy chuckled and nodded, Crash smiled and jumped around happily. "Come on! Get on the tree!" Catboy looked warmly at Crash, where did all that confidence come from? _He seems to love this game._ Catboy's stripes glowed neon blue and using his Super Cat Leap, he leaped onto a thick branch and hide between the leaves. What he didn't tell Crash is that he was gonna move around the trees. He saw Cotton running inside the forest, luckily to the opposite side of the ravine, and hide inside a hollow tree; she poked her head through a hole and went inside again as Crash and Black Ear started counting.

When Cotton looked once more outside the tree, Connor motioned his fingers and mouthed _move_ to her. She nodded and hid again. Catboy paid attention just in time to hear the other two end counting, Black Ear ran into the forest and Crash started looking up for any signs of him. Catboy used the leaves and the shadows to move around, watching Crash looking out for him with a concentrated expression. At some point, a branch cracked and Crash looked instantly into his direction, making Catboy stood still, not moving a single muscle. But a leave falling down gave away his cover and the orange-eyed boy ran up to the tree he was on.

Catboy stood there, he wanted to see what the boy could do. Crash looked doubtful for a few minutes before standing like Catboy taught him an hour ago and jumped high in the air, using his claws to get a grip on the first branch. Catboy felt proud that they were learning fast, and decided it was time to move as Crash climbed up, almost to his branch, but it was too late as the little boy spotted him. "I found you!" He exclaimed.

"But you gotta catch me. Super Cat Jump!" Said Catboy before leaping to a branch in the next tree. When Crash got into the thick branch Catboy was formerly on, he looked with fear at the ground and then back at Catboy.

"I'm never gonna make that jump..." He said disappointedly.

Catboy didn't move. "There's only one way for you to made that jump."

Crash looked down once more. "B-But I'm gonna fall! I'm not as good as you!"

"I'll be here waiting for you, if something happens I'll rush to help you." Catboy sat in the branch and positioned his tail around his legs, waiting for Crash calmly. _I know he can make it, I know he will._ He was about to give up and teach Crash how to jump when someone landed beside him, he reacted instantly and grabbed Crash by his scruff before he fell off the branch. "Well done! I knew you could make it!"

"But I failed, you had to catch me before I fell off the branch..."

Catboy lowered his head beside him, quietly he said. "You learn from failures, not from being perfect at the first try." With an amused gleam in his eyes, he said. "My first time was me getting myself stuck in a trashcan, banana peels in your ears aren't a nice feeling." They both laughed and Catboy said. "Let's keep trying." Crash nodded and Catboy jumped into the next branch.

"Found you!" He heard Black Ear said and watched her chase Cotton in around the clearing on the side of the forest. He sighed, he felt calm and happy, most of all proud of them, he knew they were gonna be the finest of heroes if they continued like this.

* * *

It's been two hours since they started training in the forest and him, as well as the kids, were really tired. They were entering HQ now, going inside Crash's Room and then heading into the Elevators Room. He waited for the kids to go up first before he went there himself. He felt his costume full of dirt and pine needles, which was making him back itch a lot and thought of taking a warm bath, the kids were in no better condition than him. He sighed. _Is there even a bath in here? They surely need a good bath._ He smiled to himself. _I do too, idiot._

They all went back to their alter-ego selves by touching the symbols on their costumes and head into the main room. Connor stretched and tried to reach the itchy spot on his back, only to grunt when he couldn't. The Picture Player of the HQ activated and he tapped a few buttons, which opened two doors behind the rocks of Unità's Room. Before saying anything, he saw that three of the buttons didn't have anything on them. _There are no vehicles in here, maybe these buttons will eventually update when they'll get them._

"Kids, it's time for a bath." He said. They all protested tiredly but none did anything to avoid it, they were really tired. Catboy went inside the first room, where white shirts, shorts and other kinds of clothes and shoes were aligned perfectly. There were many different sizes, and they all varied on colors. He picked different pajamas and underwear for the kids and grabbed towels, and leaving the room -or closet- he approached them.

"Who will go first?" Hope and Unità signaled Vita and she pouted with a frown. When he helped her stand up, she followed him into the bathroom, where a bathtub was already full of warm water with bubbles. "Okay, I'll wait for you outside and when you are already on the water, you call me." She nodded and he left, closing the door and standing next to it, waiting for her. When he heard her call his name, he entered and grabbed a plastic cup from under the sink and a strawberry-scented shampoo.

Her eyes were closing slowly and Connor knew she was really tired, she had helped him to help her friends train but didn't discover any of her powers yet. That reminded Connor to seek for Lightning Fur's help when he sleeps. He sighed and washing her hair, he thought. _It's gonna be a long time before I'm back home.  
_  
One hour later, Connor found himself drying Hope's hair with a pastel orange towel while his own hair was dripping wet. The boy was sitting quietly in front of him and yawned every now and then. "Did you had fun tonight?" Connor asked quietly, watching the other two girls already sleeping in Unità's bed.

"Yeah, it's been a while since I played Hide-n-Seek. Last time I played it, it was with-" He stopped there, not allowing himself to say more. Connor heard him sigh and stopped drying his hair.

"With who, Hope?"

Hope stood silent for a few moments before answering. "W-With Big Brother." The quiet of the room gave a relaxing ambient, the clock on the wall revealed it was 4:30 AM. He concentred on Hope when he sighed sadly. "I miss him, and my parents too..."

Connor didn't feel like asking, but he needed to know what happened that the little ginger-haired boy ended up in the streets without any family but the two girls that were snoring quietly not so far away from them. "Hope, what happened to them?"

This time Hope took more time to answer the question, and while Connor waited, he ended drying the boy's hair. He stood up and went to another bed near Unità's, and unsheeted it. Hope climbed on it and Connor followed shortly after grabbing another towel to dry his own hair. "Someone took them away, some bad guys took them away." He looked down, avoiding Connor's gaze, softly, he added. "A-And they sent my brother to the City of Stars in front of me."

At that last statement, Connor froze in place. _Someone killed his brother in front of him? No wonder he is afraid of everything._ Connor wasn't expecting to hear such a thing from a 6-year-old kid, but he didn't know what he was expecting either. A sudden wrath feeling boiled inside him, how could be people so heartless to harm kids? _6-year-old kids._ "How did you managed to escape the bad guys?"

Hope sobbed slightly. "Big Brother told me to hide and keep quiet." Sob. "A-After that I t-tried following my parents, b-but I lost them as soon as I entered this place. Unità and Vita found me a week later..." Connor at this point stopped drying his hair, and instead, he hugged Hope and embraced him. "I'm afraid they will find them, what would I do without my sisters?"

"I'll keep you three safe, from anything, that's why I'm here." He said, his voice echoing around the room.

Hope hugged him strongly and they both kept like that until they fell asleep together.

* * *

 _Gekko was out of breath, he was wet but he didn't know why. The crack of the leaves around him was fast as if something was stalking him in the darkest corners. He could hear the rumbling sound of rushing water, which seemed to have wood on it as it broke against hard stuff that Gekko could guess were rocks. A swift movement on the corner of his eye caught his attention and rapidly spun around to look for it, but it wasn't there anymore._

 _"W-Who's there?" Gekko asked sounding as if he was crying and took a defensive position. "I-I'm not afraid to fight you!"_

 _Now the sound came from behind him and he thought he saw a long thin tail go into the shadows. Whatever it was, had a tail and it was small, Gekko figured that out when he saw the figure move behind a rock. Now another sound shifted above him and brown and white feathers started to fall down from the branches of the trees, but Gekko couldn't figure out from what kind of birds they belonged to._

 _Another plump figure moved on the shadows into a hollow tree and Gekko could feel it watching him from the inside. The leaves under his feet started to crack with an icing sound and the temperature suddenly dropped, making Gekko hug his arms in coldness. It started snowing and Gekko heard the water from before turn to ice. Then with a huge noise **crash!** The whole ground disappeared and he started falling, he yelped when he hit the water edge hard. He tried to swim up but found that ice was preventing him to do so. Swift and enchanting voices echoed around and Gekko felt nothing but fear, they didn't have anything good within them._

 _ **Beware Lizard, water may be your friend, but not Blue's!**_

 _Blue? Who is Blue?_

 _ **The storm will bring nothing but blood!**_

 _"Storm?! Blood?!" Gekko asked freaked out._

 _Out of the darker depths of the water, lots and lots of shiny damaged and creepy looking animal figures suddenly overwhelmed him, looking angry. In unison, they yelled at him with a distorted voice._

 _ **"THE LIZARD WILL CHANGE THE CURRENT OF THE WATER AND WILL MAKE THE RIVER RUN RED."**_

 _ **GASP.**_

Greg opened his eyes to see a worried Riley over him and his hands were on his shoulders. "Are you okay?" He asked Greg worriedly. Greg was still shocked by the nightmare he just had and had trouble answering, so he only nodded. "Are you sure? You were whispering about blood and rivers and shit like that." He obviously wasn't convinced.

"I-It was just a nightmare... I'm fine." Greg looked out of the window and read a sign that said _'Welcome to Milennia Town!'_ , he sighed. _I hope we find him soon._

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the delay, didn't mean to. I want to also say that I updated the prologue and the first chapter because I changed the names of the animal totems, it was too confusing to write with. Thanks for reading and reviews are always appreciated.**


	7. Chapter 6: Lost and Found

This is a long one, 15k words!

Disclaimer: PJ Masks doesn't belong to me. The Petit Masks and the Diamond Masks do.

* * *

 _Chapter 6: Lost and Found_

 _The same morning..._

It was 7:30 AM in Tarabiscoville, where a cold breeze ran through the empty streets. Lina was making her way home after her night shift at the Hospital, she was a nurse and worked once every two days at night. She was hoping that Greg could go to the market with her later today and help her with the monthly shopping, they were only both of them in the house since her daughter Nina left to London, but it was easier for them to have all settled up already.

When she doubled the corner of the street that led to her neighborhood her legs felt heavier and her feet hurt, and she longed to get home and get some sleep. She prepared her keys, which consisted of three keychains and two keys. The first keychain was a golden one with two rings, they were her's and Daniel's wedding rings, she felt safer when she carried them around though most people tend to tell her that it's a sign that she is not moving on from Daniel. The second keychain was a Dove's wing that Nina gifted her before she left, and the third one was a nicely decorated lizard which Greg gifted her last year's summer to show her that he really loved her.

Lina missed dearly her husband, it was an ache she didn't want her children to go through and now that her beloved little girl left she felt she was losing her family. Greg was her only child that remained and she would die if something ever happened to him, he was always a mommy's boy but now that he was growing up, she feared he was gonna finally let go of her and move away. She looked at the two rings and smiled. Greg was so much like his father Daniel, kind-hearted, funny, shy, but what it came to that is that Daniel was also rebellious and independent, and with Greg's sudden decision of looking for Connor in a place far away from home yesterday, she was worried that Greg was going that way, the one where she was left behind.

She sighed and put the keys on the door, she was about to open it until it opened by itself; Lina felt a surge of horror, the lock was on but the door was bad closed. She pushed the door open and hurried upstairs to Greg's room. "Greg!" She looked inside and Old Lionel looked at her sleepy, he moved inside his terrarium and faced her for a moment, Lina stared back; she could swear that that lizard knew more than a normal pet would. Greg's room was messy, the sheets were all over the floor and the closet was open. What happened?

"Greg, sweetie, where are you?!" She hurried outside his room and ran around the house, even looking in her room and Nina's old room. "GREG?!" She hurried downstairs and checked the back of the house and the backyard. She checked inside the empty and dirty pool, in the forest behind her backyard, she even dared to take a look on Alexander's backyard, Amaya's father. She stopped a bit in the doorframe of the back of her house on the verge of tears. Where was her little boy? She hurried inside once more, pleading to her ancestors to not let anything bad happen to Greg wherever he was.

She was gonna check outside, maybe he felt scared and went to Amaya's house, she knew sometimes Greg felt scared of the dark. She walked through the hallway and was about to pick the keys she left beside the fridge when she noticed a note stuck on the door of it. She picked it up and felt relieved to see that it was Greg's handwriting.

 _I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do this. But I really need to find Connor. You are in your rights to be mad at me when I come back. -Loves you more, Greggy._

Lina was relieved, but she also felt a lot of other stuff, she felt angry that Greg disobeyed her, sad that he needed to sneak out at night to do what he wanted. Someone knocked on the door and shortly after a tall brown-haired man with creamy light skin walked in cautiously. Lina looked at him and noticed that he looked sick worried. "Alexander?"

"Is everything okay?"

She sighed. "Not really... Greg ran away."

Alexander seemed to sigh on relief, he put a hand over his chest. "Then that means Amaya went with him, she's not alone..." He approached her. "I finished my night patrol an hour ago and when I got back I found a note saying that she needed to-"

"Find Connor because it's important." Lina finished. "Greg did the same, it seems that they planned it, do you know if any other of their friends went with them?" Alexander was about to answer when the phone of the house rang, both looked at each other and Lina picked the phone up, then walked back to where he was standing. "Hello, who's talking?"

Alexander watched her talk over the phone, holding it delicately with her soft hands. She nodded every now and then, mentioning names and that she didn't know something, Alexander watched her expectantly, he had a feeling of what she was talking about, and with who, but didn't want to assume things yet.

"Okay, I'll let you know. Goodbye." Lina hanged the phone and put it on its rightful place then looked at Alexander. "It was Federico's father, Marcelo, apparently Federico is missing too. You know what that means, right?"

Alexander nodded. "Yeah, they all went along. Probably Riley and this girl, what was her name? The one with dark hair?"

"Silver."

"Yeah, her! Probably went along with them as well." He let out an exasperated sigh. "Amaya has never done something like this in her life, she never sneaked up at night or do bad stuff, she's not like this! I don't know what's gotten into her!" Lina watched Alexander's tired and freaked out expression, she knew that his wife had divorced him a few years ago and took with her Alexander's youngest daughter, Loana. He's been devastated and Lina thought that if Amaya wasn't around, he would've gotten a severe depression. "She usually tells me where she is going and for how long..."

Lina motioned her head. "Greg is the same, he doesn't like going out without telling me first, he knows I don't like it either." Concluded Lina.

Alexander shook his head. "Where do you think they went? Why does every bad thing happen at night, when we are not there to stop them or keep them safe?" He sighed in defeat, he missed his little girl a lot already and Lina knew it.

Lina looked away, up into the stairs. That question brought her one single memory to her mind, the night someone brought Greg back home at night. She recalled that that night Greg was ill as never before, he was burning up, he had several injuries on his torso and his breathing wasn't steady, he had a strange dark tint on the tip of his finger that as days went by disappeared.

 _Lina stopped in the door of Greg's room watching the figure standing on the window's edge against the moonlight, someone was outside waiting for him._  
"You've brought my son like this, you owe me an explanation!" _Lina said angered, no one hurt her baby and got away with it. "_ And you dare to sneak up on my own house and pretend I didn't see or heard you. **Who** are you?"

 _The figure looked at her with fierce blue eyes. Lina didn't recognize him, he had a full-body suit that blended well into the night, the moonlight and the dark of the room didn't help at all. He lifted his head high and looking at her intensely, said. "We didn't do this, and we can't tell you, but we can assure you that as long as we are here, Greg will never be harmed." With that, he jumped out of the window and Lina ran to the window to look outside for him but saw no one there. **Where did he go?**_

"Lina!" Lina looked at Alexander that now was standing in front of her. "Jeez, you froze there for a moment."

"Sorry, I was just thinking." Answered Lina, putting a hand over her forehead. A car seemed to park outside and both of them shared a look. Not many of their neighbors had cars, only three of them had and Katrina was one, but for what both of them knew, they were all parked and inside their garages. They walked to the door and looked. A blue car drove over to Katrina's house and parked in the parking lot, two persons got out of the car and walked over to Katrina's door, and when Katrina showed in there she hugged them tightly, that's when Lina realized who they were. _Connor's grandparents!_

"After Katrina called them they probably thought it was a good idea to come, their grandson is missing." Alexander put a hand on her shoulder. "Do you think Connor is fine?" He looked at her intensely with his red eyes. "Do you think our babies are gonna be alright?"

Lina sighed. "I hope so." She kept looking at Katrina and her parents, she had an uneasy feeling but didn't want to acknowledge it. Usually, when a mother has a gut feeling about their kid,

 _it's usually right_.

* * *

Gekko _, Gekko!_

 _Lizard, be careful!_

 _Storm of Blood!_

 _Red, tinted water!_

Greg woke up again sweating and breathing heavily. He looked around and find himself safely on the bed of his and Riley's bedroom on the hotel. He grunted and punched the bed, scaring Riley, who was just getting out of the bathroom with a towel around his head and fresh clothes. He looked at Riley with heavy eyelids and a tired expression. Riley walked over to his luggage and took one of his sweaters. "Again?"

Greg fell back on the bed with his head hitting comfortably the pillow. "Again." Greg watched Riley do all of his stuff and huffed. "I just don't know why I kept having these weird dreams-"

"Nightmares."

"-nightmares, and they just keep coming and every time they are worst."

Riley closed loudly his suitcase and shaking off some lint from his sweater, replied. "Dear stars, it's been a while since I didn't use this one." He walked over to Greg and held a hand. "Maybe it's because you are, uh, worried about Connor?"

Greg looked at him with a flat expression. "Why would he had to do with red water and a storm of blood? Surely he can't screw it up any more than he already did."

"Look, I-" Riley put his hand down and took a breath, he sat by Greg's side. "I know that you are upset with him, but surely you don't want anything bad to happen to him, right? I am too, but that doesn't mean I want him to be harmed or anything."

Greg put his hands on his chest. "No, I don't want to..." There were several moments of silence until he sat up and rubbed his eyes. "But still, I don't think he has to do with the nightmares." _Hopefully._

Riley looked a little bit off now. "I had a couple of nightmares too, not so long ago. They were all related to somebody I know." He looked down at his hands and Greg noticed he had a mysterious gleam on his eyes. "Somebody I know too well." He closed them and looked again at Greg with his eyes a little bit cloudy, but pulling out a fake smile. "They weren't related to that person at all, but they were about them. Maybe that's what happens to you, too."

Greg felt uneasy by just looking into Riley's eyes, they were different, so he looked away; he shook his head. "Or maybe not, it's just a mystery." He avoided Riley's glare for several moments then changed the subject. "You've been talking with Federico this morning, right?" He looked at the hour: 2 PM.  
"Talking about me."

"W-What? N-No. It wasn't about you." Greg looked at Riley with a boring expression. "Well, maybe a little, but it wasn't from me!"

Greg scoffed. "Figured." This time he stood up from the bed and walked over to his own luggage, taking some clothes and his teeth brush, he said. "Gonna take a quick bath, then we'll go searching for Connor."

"Alright, but hurry up, Amaya and Silver left already. Federico is waiting for us." Greg nodded and went inside the bathroom.

* * *

Amaya and Silver made their way through the wave of people in the center of the city. They left early that morning to search for Connor... and had a nice breakfast away from the other boys, now they were back with their search. They had started with asking other people if they've seen Connor pass by or anything, then they went looking into nearby hotels if Connor was a client in there, with no luck of finding him.

Now they were making their way to other stores, maybe Connor had been in them, either buying something or searching for whatever he came here to.  
Amaya pondered that, why did he come here for? Since he wanted to ask for their help that day it surely was something important, right? She scoffed and tried to get rid of the feeling inside her. Why did she listen to Greg?

"This is gonna take ages if we don't hurry up, Amaya." She realized that Silver was waiting for her on the door of a children's store, she looked up and read the big and colorful letters: Les Enfants Coeur! She looked down at Silver and asked:

"Why would Connor be here?" She followed Silver inside and hurried up to walk by her side.

Silver took out her phone while she walked towards the cashier. "I don't know, Connor's weird sometimes." She looked up from her phone when Amaya was about to reply. "You can't deny that we've seen him in weird places at some night patrols."

"You... make a point." Was all Amaya said. _Now we know what he was doing in those weird places._ She stopped in front of the cashier, who looked at them with a strange expression.

"Can I help you with something?"

Silver put her phone in front of the girl and pointed out the photo on the screen. "We are looking for this guy, have you seen him? He went lost two days ago."

Amaya spoke up hurriedly. "We are friends with him." Silver directed her a glare that told a different story, she shrugged and looked hopeful at the cashier,  
who looked thoughtfully until she made a distinct sound. Amaya's eyes were hopeful. "Have you?"

"Yes actually, I did!" The cashier put her hands on her hips triumphantly. "Huh, I finally did something right." She put her arms over the counter. "He was here yesterday, he bought some clothes and plushies for some children that were with him."

Silver and Amaya exchanged a glare that shared the same question. Kids? Connor with kids? Amaya looked at the cashier confusedly. "Are you sure he was with... children?" She had her hands together while she waited for an answer.

The cashier nodded. "Yup, though they weren't _any_ kids, they were homeless. I've seen them before." She gasped delightedly. "He was helping them! What a lovely guy." She put her hand under her chin. "I should look for myself someone like him."

Amaya looked at Silver and beckoned her to one side. "Maybe if we can find those kids-"

"We can find Connor, good idea." She looked confused. "Though why would Connor be with kids?" She looked somewhat worried and shocked. "You don't think they are his..."

Amaya raised an eyebrow. "What are you babbling about? Of course not, Connor's too young for that and he knows it. Plus, I don't think he'll engage in that stuff with a girl."

Silver nodded amusedly. "You got a point there." She looked back at the cashier and asked. "Do you know who these kids are?"

The girl seemed lost in Silver for a moment before shaking her head. "No, sorry. But I know someone who does!" She said. The three of them waited a minute in silence while the girl kept looking at Silver.

Silver crossed her arms. "So... are you gonna tell us who this is or...?"

"Oh, right!" She looked into the back of the store and yelled. "Barry! Alguien te est buscando!" Both Amaya and Silver looked rather confused but waited anyway. After a few minutes, they both heard babbling and a tall boy with dark skin, black hair and blue eyes stepped out of the back door, he was carrying two boxes that seemed heavy.

"No tenés claro que este no es mi turno, Izzy?" He said bitterly. The cashier, or Izzy, looked at him amusedly and signaled with her head at Amaya and Silver. Barry left the boxes in one side and approached them. "Can I help you with something?" He asked politely.

"Yeah..." Amaya answered and Silver approached Barry and showed him the picture of Connor in her phone. "We are looking for this guy, your partner here told us that he saw him with a bunch of kids that might be familiar to you."

Barry tilted his head and shrugged. "Honey you gotta be more specific, I see kids very often." He put his arms in the air and looked around.

Izzy spoke up. "The three kids you often go to look after! The ones that live down the city!"

Barry looked confused for a moment then smashed his fist on the palm of his hand. "Oh, you're talking about Hope, Unità, and Vita!" He smiled. "Yes, I know them."

Amaya and Silver exchanged a glare. "Who now?"

"Unità, Vita, and Hope are three kids that live down the city, they have no parents so whenever I can I go and give them some stuff." He sighed. "I haven't seen them in a while now, I've been very busy, but if they were with someone else then they might be fine." He said in relief.

"Can you tell us where they live? We might find our friend if we know where they are." Amaya pleaded.

Barry shook his head. "Honey, I don't think you understand. Here, if you live down the city, it means that you are either homeless or a contrabandist. They don't have a regular home because thieves might steal the less they already have, so-"

"-they move away constantly." Silver finished.

Barry nodded. "Exactly. I go there because I like to help people but I got endangered many times, I don't recommend you go there."

Amaya crossed her arms. "We are gonna take the risk, we've seen worst."

Barry looked shocked. "Are you sure?" Both Silver and Amaya nodded. "Alright..." He walked behind the counter and grabbed a pen and paper. He started sketching out what seemed a map and circled some spots. "As I said, they move along because of the danger, but they always do it near the slope that leads to the Finch Pines forest. Look around carefully, they are really good at hiding, but don't take too long." He signaled a place on the paper and marked with red. "This place right here is known for a lot of killings over the last few years, and the murderers are still out there." He looked up at them with fear in his eyes. "They are a gang, and they are so dangerous that not even the police was able to confront them."

"They weren't?" Silver acquired.

Barry shook his head. "Seven dead and the rest severely injured." Amaya and Silver glared at each other shocked and Barry nodded. "I know. They are a lot, so be sure you're back before sunset." He handed the paper to them and before releasing it, he glared intensely at Amaya. "IF you don't make it before sunset, climb up the slope and hide as fast as you can. They don't tend to cross the slope."

He let go of the paper and Amaya glared at it. There was a small feeling of fear inside her, but faced it and looked at Barry. "Alright, we'll take your advice. Thank you, Barry."

He nodded. "My pleasure. Be careful!" He waved while they left the store.

"Good luck finding your friend!" Amaya heard Izzy said and nodded at her in gratefulness.

Once outside, Amaya looked down at the paper on her hand and crushed it with determination. "Let's go, we don't have too much time." Silver followed her and put a hand over her shoulder.

"Are you sure about that?"

"We have all the afternoon, if Connor is with those kids down there, then they all might be facing a huge danger. We need to find them and warn him." Amaya answered, looking straight up ahead. They kept walking and occasionally stopped to ask for directions. Once at the entrance of the place, Amaya sighed and looked around.

 _We are gonna find you, Connor, just wait for a little longer._

* * *

Connor was deeply into sleep. He was dreaming a lot of stuff, about the Petit Masks, his friends, cats, and other stuff that brought him joy. For the past three days, he didn't have any nightmares, and if he didn't know if it was because of Lightning Fur getting rid of them, or because he's been feeling joyful and happy.

He started opening his eyes when he felt discomfort on his face, something was itchy and disturbed his dreams. He passed a hand over his face to get rid of it, but after a few more minutes, it was there again. He opened lazily his eyes and heard giggles, then when he fully opened them, he distinguished the figures of Unità, Hope, and Vita there. They all had their hands over their mouths and were giggling.

Connor sighed and closed his eyes, without lifting his head, he asked. "What did you do?" Then all of them burst laughing and Connor knew he had to get up and see whatever the kids did to him. He sat up on the bed while the kids watched him intently, waiting for something. He stood up and walked over the Picture Player and tapped a button, which opened the door of the bathroom.

With sleepy steps, he entered and watched himself on the mirror. He stood there silently for a few minutes, not processing anything until he realized what they did to him. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" He splashed his face with water several times and rubbed it furiously when he looked up in the mirror and saw that the marker on his face didn't go away yet, he used soap and rubbed his face.

"We noticed you like kitties." That was Vita.

"So we transformed you into one!" Unit said. They all laughed again and Connor put his face under the water, but under the water of the bathtub.

Once he turned the water down, he looked at them, angry. "Where did you get the marker? Give it to me."

"It was on the ground," Hope answered and handed it to Connor.

Connor read the marker and facepalmed angrily. "This is a long-lasting marker, kids! What have you done?!" He washed his face a few more times, each time with soap, hoping that at some point it was going to wash away. When it didn't, Connor became more annoyed. He faced them and angrily pointed at his face. " _This_ is wrong! What were you thinking?!"

Unità played with her hands sadly at Connor scolding them. "We were bored..."

Vita and hope looked at their feet. "We were just having fun..." Hope said delusional. Connor calmed down once he saw their sad faces and wanted to punch himself at the remainder that they were only kids. He sighed.

"Sorry, but this is not okay." He said, putting up the marker they previously had. When none of them looked at him and kept looking away, he sighed. _I can't get angry at them._ "Look, you said you were bored, right? Wanna go out and play something?"

They slowly looked at him, and after exchanging glares, they nodded. "Okay. Sorry." Unit said.

"Sorry, Connor." Hope apologized.

"Sorry." Vita followed.

"It's alright. Get prepared, this kitty will keep washing his face." He joked. They nodded eagerly and went outside. He splashes his face with water several times before there were no hints of the marker, only faded ones, but not noticeable at all. This little mischief made him remember the time he and Amaya painted Greg's face with paint while he was asleep. Greg turned colors that morning, and it wasn't because of the paint.

Thinking about them, he looked at his cellphone, which was beside the soap because he took a shower last night and left it there. He turned it on back on Courant City, but after that, he didn't even touch it. Did his friends worried about him? Did his mother found out that he wasn't with his grandmother? Hopefully not, she was alike Greg's mother on the topic of their beloved ones leaving them. He did hate lying and leaving her behind, but part of him felt it was right what he did.

He went outside for a bit to get some clothes and get prepared for the day, he wasn't sure what they were gonna do, but something will eventually pop in his mind. He looked at the hour, 3 PM in the afternoon. He decided to take a shower then eat some lunch with the kids, he was going to take them outside for a bit before sundown.

After an hour, he and the kids left HQ with some beach balls and a long rope. Vita was carrying a little Robot toy while Hope carried the long rope and Unità the Beach Balls. He decided not to take them to the central city because it was already late, and wandering there at night was dangerous, as alleged by Unità. Instead, he decided to search in HQ for some toys and other stuff that might entertain the kids.

He looked up at the sky and had to cover his eyes with his forearm to prevent the sunlight to damage his eyes. It was hot outside, so he was using a fresh turquoise tank top with blue cargo shorts. The short grass brushed the sides of his feet as he wore some comfortable black sandals. He looked at the kids who seemed as fresh as him with their new pair of clothes.

Unità was using a nice pastel yellow tank top as well and some white shorts with a pair of yellow slip-on shoes that had white stripes on the side. She had loved them when the compartment of their HQ stored them and tried them on. Bouncing around with the Beach balls, Connor could tell she was really happy.

Hope and Vita were trying to jump the rope together while one on the extreme jumped inside while swinging it. Vita was the one to jump inside, the lilac ribbon on her hair motioned thanks to the wind the rope provoked. Her white spotted lilac skirt flew as well, though she didn't worry as she had a white short under it.

Hope had the orange tank top he had bought back on the store and blue cargo shorts as well, which made Connor giggle because Hope specifically chose them to 'Look exactly like him!', as he told his sisters. Even though it was hot outside, Hope still wore the black scarf he had the first time he met him. His black converse got stuck with the rope and he fell to the ground with an audible thud, Vita looked at him and Connor was about to rush in when they both started laughing.

Connor stopped himself and smiled, they could also handle themselves, they didn't need him for everything. He sat on the ground and watched them play when Unità shyly approached him. Connor arched an eyebrow, he knew she wanted something, and he did have an idea of what. "Want to play?"

She smiled and nodded eagerly, sitting on the ground. "I'll throw it and you catch it, got it?"

He chuckled; once she got confidence she did order everyone around. He nodded and prepared himself to catch the ball when he felt something jump on his back. He shrieked at the thought of being a bug, a really big bug, and jumped.

"Woah!" He heard the kids exclaim, he spun around and saw two little grey fluff balls, only to realize they were rodents. They ran around each other and playfully ran around the kids, especially Vita.

They seemed harmless, so when one got close enough, he caught it and pulled it up. The kids ran close to him and admire it. Vita petted it when the other one, a male Connor could tell, jumped on Vita's shoulder and watched for his mate. "They look like-" Vita started.

"Cotton Tail, your animal totem." Connor finished. The female Chinchilla jumped from his grip into Vita's hair and fooled with her ribbon, her mate following shortly after. "They probably have their den near." Connor watched the two Chinchillas play with Vita's ribbon. "You probably attracted them with your animal totem."

"That can happen?" Hope asked curiously.

Connor nodded. "Yeah, I attract a lot of cats back home." Hope smiled and then kept admiring the two rodents fool around.

"Can we keep them?" Unit asked. Connor looked at her and considered her proposal, he put a hand on his chin. The little ones seemed really fond of Vita already, and he thought that having pets would make the Petit Masks more responsible on the future, but that was also a problem; a pet was a huge responsibility, he out of anyone knew it better, and the kids barely knew the concept of 'responsible'. Not that they were stupid, but they weren't careful either. Like any kid, they looked more ahead for the fun and excitement of a new adventure more than the consequences that it might cause. Once he left they had to learn how to take care of them without him around, and Connor wasn't sure that was going to be a success. He opened his eyes in realization.

 _Once he left._

Eventually, he'll have to leave them to go back home. He grimaced. How was he going to tell them? Tell them that he eventually will need to leave them so he can go back home with his family. He looked at them, they were his family too, like the little siblings he never had. He knew it wasn't a long time since he met them, but he felt as if they were really special, and he didn't have a single doubt that they felt that way about him too.

"Connor?" He shook his head and focused. Vita had spoken. "Why are you sad?" She asked worriedly.

"I'm not sad, I was just-" He grimaced. "Uh, missing home, that's all. I have a pet back there and they reminded me of her." He lied. He needed a better time to tell them he was eventually going to leave.

"Do you have a cat? What's her name?" Hope asked. "Are we going to meet her?" Connor opened his eyes in surprise at that question. Did they think he was going to take them with him back to Tarabiscoville?

He avoided the question. "Yes, I do. Her name is Titina, she's missing a leg due to a car accident when she was a kitten." He smiled proudly. "I adopted her."

"She must be really cool!" Hope said.

Connor nodded. "She is." He noticed that the sun was going down. "Let's play for a bit before training, sunset is not so far. Let's make the time worth it." The kids nodded and they all went back to their activities.

* * *

When Greg stepped out of the bathroom, he found himself alone in the hotel room, Riley was nowhere to be seen. Had he left without him? He picked his phone and noticed he had some texts from him.

 _[15:30, 18/4/2024] Riley:P: Look, you didn't hurry up, so I'm leaving. I'm not in the mood to be waiting for you._  
 _[15:31, 18/4/2024] Riley:P: Federico said he would, so go searching for Connor with him. I don't care._

Greg opened his eyes in surprise; Riley was oddly angry at him for no reason and technically snapped at him. He didn't deny that he took a lot of time to do his stuff, but it wasn't a reason either to be that upset. What happened? What did Riley so upset?

He hurried to clean up his mess then hurried outside the room. He walked down the hallway of the Hotel and into the lobby, where he saw Federico seating on a table not so far away. When Greg walked up to him, he noticed that he had an upset expression and knew he had to do with whatever stung Riley. He cleared his throat and Federico looked up with somewhat puffy red eyes.

Greg had to keep himself from asking what happened and instead, said. "Sorry for taking long, let's go. Riley said you've waited for me."

Federico murmured something before standing up and walking past him without even looking at him. Greg felt somewhat guilty and he didn't know why, but shook his head and followed. Once outside, they both met the chaos of the city. "Amaya texted me, she said that Connor might be on the lower part of the city."

Greg looked at him confused. "Why would he be there?"

Federico shrugged with a grimace. "What would I know?" He snapped. Greg rolled his eyes. _Geez, everyone's moody today._ Federico sighed. "Let's just take a taxi or bus or something and get there, we are wasting time standing here like idiots."

Greg looked at him unsure of what to say. "Alright..."

They made their way through the wave of people and eventually got some directions on how to get there. They had been told that no buses took them there, so their only option was a taxi. After thanking the person who told them, they kept their way and then waited for a taxi in a corner, though the minutes they spent waiting were uncomfortable to Greg. Federico didn't even look at him and watching him stomping his feet on the ground rhythmically,  
he decided it was best not to bother him. The nightmares kept bothering him all morning, he was afraid that if Federico and he argued, they were going to end on top of each other.

Federico fastly shook his head and raised an arm, and Greg noticed he was stopping a taxi. He approached and Federico put his head inside after opening the door, clearly talking to the driver. He poked his head out and looked at him. "He says he can take us, but asked if we are sure we want to go there."  
Greg nodded and Federico went inside, not so long after he followed.

The driver was an adult between the 22 and 25 years old, blonde haired Greg noticed, and they looked at them through the mirror. "You surely have the guts to go there." Was all they said before turning on the fare meter and driving. Everything was fairly quiet, with the driver focusing ahead and Federico looking out the window.

Greg noticed Federico's leg shaking up and down in a nervous manner and didn't know if he needed to say something or shut up because he might make things worse. Federico was playing with his ring and at the same time bitting his nails, a bad habit he had, and Greg reached a hand out to him doubtfully. He stopped before touching his shoulder and looked at the mirror. The driver was looking at him with an approval expression and nodded before looking ahead.

Greg patted Federico's shoulder, making the other jump and look at him. Federico raised an eyebrow with a serious expression that made Greg nervous. For a moment he didn't find the words for what he wanted to say, then he decided to go for the most usual question for this kind of situations. "Are you okay?"

Federico looked at him doleful and shook his head. "Do I look like it?"

Greg lowered his head after a few minutes of silence. "So... what happened?" He acquired.

Federico had a doubtful expression as if he was questioning himself if he needed to answer that or if he wanted. In the end, he sighed in defeat and said. "I fought with Riley over Connor, that's all." Greg knew he was hiding more, but he didn't lure him into telling him even though he wanted. He didn't want to push anyone around anymore, he wanted to stop doing that...

Greg looked down at his hands. "He'll forgive you eventually."

Federico looked at him from his peripheral vision. "I think you are the last person fit to say that."

Greg wanted to erase from existence. "I was just trying to cheer you up. I know that Riley can be hard on people sometimes, but I also know he doesn't mean it." Greg said and looked away. He didn't want to discuss anymore, it was a bad idea to talk at all.

It was 16:40 PM now and Greg and Federico were making their way through downtown. They were fairly quiet except for some small discussions to choose a way to go.

Greg started to wonder if they were gonna find Connor today, or even find him at all. What was he gonna do once he met with him again? Apologize? It was on his mind. Was he gonna let go of those bad feelings? He was going to try, but even thinking about the whole situation made him mad. But with himself or Connor?

"You're doing that again." Federico brought him back to reality in which they were standing beside a small and damaged house beside the big slope.

Greg blinked a few times confused and looked around. When did they get so far? And then he drifted his attention to the pink-eyed boy who was about to get inside the small house. "Don't get in there, you don't know if someone lives there." Federico looked back at him with a serious expression, Greg shook it off. "Also, stop what?"

Federico stretched tiredly and walked past him. "You think a lot and get lost in your own mind then don't do any searching."

Greg turned around and trotted over the other. "I don't do that."

Federico stopped and looked at him. "Yes, you do." Then he kept walking in the dirty and muddy streets. It was fairly quiet where they were, and that made Greg feel uneasy as if someone was watching him... It seemed as if he wasn't the only one as Federico stopped and started looking around, he wasn't imagining it!

There was someone.

They cautiously started walking, being alert of every corner. Greg was really close to Federico and Federico had his hand on Greg's arm protective, that was a habit and Greg definitely didn't mind. Greg fixed his gaze ahead when he thought he saw someone drive past, but in the corner of his eye something shone and he didn't have time to process what was happening until Federico pushed him away.

Greg fell on the ground and shortly after Federico fell hard on his side, then he grabbed his leg with an agonizing expression. Greg noticed how Federico's light blue jeans started to turn crimson red on the right leg, where on the side had a bullet hole. Greg gasped horrified and ran to help Federico. "We gotta go, NOW!"

Greg lifted Federico and ran as fast as he could away from the place, he didn't know where, but he had to get out of there. The taller boy was agonizing on his arms and Greg's heart ached when he whined. "I-It wasn't this painful... l-last time..." He complained.

"Last time?!"

Federico looked at him horrified. "I-I got shot before, a long time ago..." He started to breathe heavily, as if scared. "I don't know how, but this bullet is different. This bullet has something in it!"

His grip on Greg intensified and Greg found the strength to ran faster, turning around the corner and then running behind a house to short cut, then getting out on another street. In the place, other voices were heard, and Greg's heart started running faster.

"Keep looking! Those sissies have valuable stuff with them, they couldn't get far!"

"Greg, Greg, they are gonna find us!" Federico blurted out scared.

"Hush!" Greg whispered. "If we talk out loud _then_ they'll find us." Federico nodded and looked behind Greg. Greg was running ahead until Federico started patting his back hurriedly. "What?!" Greg asked desperately.

"It's Riley!" Federico exclaimed.

Greg stopped and out of breath, looked behind, where Riley was running up to them. When he reached them, Greg noticed that he had several bruises on the face and he was grabbing one of his shoulders. "What happened to you?!" Riley asked when he saw Federico's leg.

"It's a long story, now we need to run, or hide, or anything but staying here!" Greg said and started running with Riley on his side.

Riley stopped them before they could reach an old factory in the place and shook his head in terror. "You don't want to go that way, trust me." He ran to the left side to where the slope was and then went back a few streets to hide on a semi-buried house. _Brilliant_. Greg thought. _They won't suspect we are here if the house is in this condition._

Greg sat Federico down and the boy groaned in pain, some tears streamed down his face. "I can't feel the leg..." He cried.

Riley calmed him down. "It's gonna be okay, just you wait."

Greg removed his sweater and was only on his white tank top now. He tore it apart with a piece of metal on the extreme and then pulled it with his hands. "We have to get the bullet out someway, but if we touch the wound we might infect it." He told Riley.

"J-Just wrap it!" Riley said frantically.

Greg nodded and before wrapping the leg, he gave Federico a small piece of cloth that was left. "Put it in your mouth, this will hurt." Federico did as told and when he nodded at Greg, Greg wrapped Federico's leg then tied strongly. When he did that, Federico screamed in pain into the clothe and laid his head on Riley's shoulder.

Riley grimaced and moved, Greg looked at him confused and Riley sighed. "Guess you want a backstory on this, huh?" Greg nodded. "I was looking around that old factory because I thought Connor's might be hiding there, but someone hit me on the face and then a bunch of people started coming out from the dark. They stole my cellphone and tried to steal my money, but I fought back and that's when my shoulder got dislocated." He grunted in pain when he moved it. "Gosh, I wish Amaya was here so she can put it in its place."

The three of them stood quiet and looked at each other, then yelled in unison. "Amaya and Silver!"

"We need to find them and warn them!" Riley said.

Greg thought about what to do then remembered that he also brought along his cellphone. "I'll call them, watch outside for anything" He ordered Riley. Riley nodded and walked over to the side in which they got in.

Greg called Amaya's number and waited for her to answer. Federico was looking apprehensive and was trying to hold back more tears while he also looked back and forth between his leg and Riley. _Is he looking out for Riley?_ Greg wondered.

"Hello?"

Greg smiled. "Amaya! You are fine!" He exclaimed. Riley looked back and Federico seemed relieved.

"Yes, I'm fine... why?" She asked carefully.

"Where are you? Quick." He acquired.

Amaya seemed even more strange. "Uh, near a huge factory, we were gonna check the place with Silver."

"NO!" The three of them yelled then covered their mouths, Riley looked outside for any sign of activity but shook his head to Greg.

"Why not?"

"Listen, we were attacked, Riley has a dislocated shoulder and Federico was shot."

"Oh my stars, are they okay? Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Listen, walk two blocks behind the factory then follow the edge of the slope until you find a buried house, alright? We are hiding in there, but be careful! Who attacked us are still looking for us, and they were no little group." Greg glanced at Federico's leg quickly.

"It's the group Barry talked me about..." She told Silver on the other side of the phone. "We'll meet you there, stay safe."

"You too." Greg hung up and meet Riley's glare. "What?"

"How did he get shot?" He motioned his head to Federico.

Greg sighed and sat on the ground, coughing because of the dust and debris. "We were searching around an old damaged house and we made the mistake to take an open path. We both felt like we were being watched, and when we stepped into an open neighborhood, I almost got shot." He lowered his head.  
"If it weren't for Federico, it would've been me instead."

"Wait, wait, wait." Riley shook his head confused and stunned at the last part. "You took a bullet for him?!" When he noticed he worded that wrong, he looked at Greg. "Not that he shouldn't have." Then he looked at Federico again. "But you took a bullet for him?! Are you nuts?!"

"I couldn't just let him be shot now could I?" Federico answered annoyed.

Riley's mouth hung open and he spread his arms in disbelief. " _You_ were shot!" He said frantically.

Federico scoffed. "Thanks for clarifying." He rolled his eyes and Riley grunted.

"You don't get my point, you could've died if the bullet hadn't been aimed wrong." Riley glared.

"You wouldn't have thought about it a second time if it was you with him!" Federico accused.

Greg opened his eyes in surprise and annoyedly rolled them, throwing his head back in defeat. Did they ever stop arguing? It was cold inside the house, probably because of how dark was inside, Greg took a look around while hearing the other two argue about him and Connor. Some sun rays shone between the pieces of the house. Debris fell occasionally and some grass was growing on the borders.

Greg noticed some old ragged clothes laying on a patch of grass beside a broken window in which light peered in. He wondered if the owner of those clothes had left, or worst died. Greg looked above. Have they died when this collapsed? Greg looked outside through a crack on a wall. Or have they been killed? Both options were very plausible.

He noticed the quiet around the place and realized that the other two stopped arguing. He didn't want to get involved any more than he already was, so he kept quiet and decided to mess around with some dust on the ground, either making shapes or writing his name. After five minutes of silence, rocks falling from the top of the entrance startled them and Greg ran beside Federico to be ready to lift him up if they needed to get away.

They all sighed in relief to see Amaya and Silver peering through the open and hidden hole on the wall. Amaya ran up to him and Riley and hugged both of them,  
she looked worriedly at them. "Are you two okay?" Then she kneeled down Federico. "Does it feel better?" She asked when she saw the clothe around the wound.

Federico shook his head. "I can't feel the leg, and it slightly burns." He sighed. "Riley's shoulder is dislocated, you should look at it."

Riley glared at him then diverted his gaze to Amaya. "Do you think you can put it in place?" He asked.

Amaya nodded and approached him. "You know how this goes." She said and he nodded. "One, two..." She put his shoulder in place before saying three and Riley grunted in pain. "You knew it was coming." She shrugged.

He kept his eyes closed in pain while caressing his shoulder. "Yes, and it's exactly why it hurts so much." He used his sweater to tie his arm and keep it in place.

Amaya looked at Greg worriedly. "You didn't get anything?"

He closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, thanks to Federico." He looked outside and noticed the sky was turning orange. "We need to leave."

"How?" Silver spoke up after examining Federico's leg. "He has a wounded leg," She signaled Riley. "He has a decaying arm and bruises." And then she pointed at him. "And you are clearly more than just exhausted." She looked outside. "You even said they were still out there looking for you three, how are we supposed to get back to the city like this?"

"Silver's right," Amaya agreed. "We are at the end of the town, there's no way we are gonna make it back." Crickets sounded around the place and a small wind ran inside. Amaya coughed when the wind rose up the dust. "That slope really diverts the wind, no wonder these streets are full of dirt."

Silver opened her eyes in realization. "Wait, didn't Barry say that if we didn't make back in time to climb up the slope?"

Amaya punched the palm of her hand glared at her. "Yes, you are right!"

Greg looked to both sides. "Uh, who's Barry?"

"Long story, now we need to get up that thing before it's too late." Amaya said, helping Silver get Federico up.

Riley walked over to Silver. "You said we were on agonizing conditions to walk back over to the city, do you think we can climb up that thing in this condition either?"

"It's better than staying here and be prey for whoever attacked you three. Besides, it's only climbing up, maybe we can find a place on the other side to spend the night." Silver answered.

Riley narrowed his eyes. "Alright..." He sighed and sat on the ground. "Let's wait until we are sure they are gone, if we leave now, we are risking getting caught, or worse..." He shivered. "Killed..." The others nodded and settled around the place, Amaya sitting by his side.

Greg shivered and worriedly looked through the crack on the ceiling, where the sky was turning slightly orange. Were they gonna find Connor and get out of there, or will they get caught and never return home? Greg didn't want to think about it.

A black and white tom cat with amber eyes leaped inside, meowing at him and rubbing on his sides. Greg picked him up and petted him. He had a patch of black in one of his eyes and Greg thought that a good name for him would be Patch. He smiled; Connor would definitely name him that.

He kept petting him until he drifted into sleep.

* * *

It was late at night already and Catboy and the Petit Masks were heading outside HQ happily chatting and bouncing around. They had spent all afternoon playing outside HQ so they felt joyful, especially Connor. He hadn't played like that since he was nine years old, to say the least. Back on HQ, the two little chinchillas they found were playing around playfully in Vita's HQ Room, Catboy purred; not like the chinchillas gave them the option to leave them.  
The two little creatures had followed Vita back when they returned and had stayed with her since then.

Cotton bounced up to him. "We'll discover my powers tonight, right?" She puppy-eyed Connor, and he smiled calmly.

"I'm sure we will, I have a lot of stuff I want to teach you tonight." He said. They were heading to the forest that now he knew, thanks to the picture player, it was called Finch Pines Forest. He was carrying two blindfolds and several bowling pins in a small bag over his shoulder, he was planning to teach Crash and Black Ear how to be attentive and precise while, at the same time, he was gonna attack them.

Well, not exactly attack them, he was just gonna make it a little bit harder for them to actually achieve their goals. He looked at Cotton, who was walking ahead of him now and chattering animatedly with Crash; he felt pity for her. She has been trying all afternoon to think of a way she can figure out her powers, or activate them, since saying random powers didn't help her find any of them at all.

He stopped beside some tall and flat rocks alongside some weirdly twisted pines and called the Petit Masks to stop. "Come, we are practicing here." He said and put the stuff down on the grass. Today was windy and the soft breeze of last night was now a slightly strong wind. The wind carried different smells and sounds with it and Catboy had to shook his head to ignore them.

He could hear the sounds of the river down the ravine and how the current seemed to be strong, as the water splashed against the rocks that popped out on the surface. The pines cracked and the leaves crunched on the forest floor as different animals walked over them. He felt on the wind a gust of water and thought that rain must be on the watch, clouds passed the moon occasionally.

But Catboy wrinkled his nose; alongside the watery smell of rain, he could also smell something sour and it was definitely strong, but it wasn't near them. What was it? Catboy kept looking at the forest as the wind blew, but then he smelled nothing. He looked back to the slope afar; the wind was also coming from that way, so he figured that tonight's rain was gonna be more like a storm.

Then there was that smell again. Sour, strong, and it smelled like _death_. He had smelled it before, he was sure he did, but he couldn't click on what the smell was.

"Catboy, come on! We want to train before it rains!" Crash exclaimed behind him. He ignored the smell and went back to the kids, no smell was more important than them.

He placed the bowling pins on the rock and alleged Black Ear forward. He looked up once he finished and examined the area, what could he use to distract Black Ear? He then saw a branch with some pine cones hanging; he smiled mischievously. "Black Ear, you will start." He walked over to a certain spot not so far from the rocks. "Come and stand right here." Black Ear nodded and walked over to him.

He kneeled beside her and pointed the bowling pins. "You see those bowling pins?" She nodded curiously. "Aim your Caracal Roar and throw them down,  
one by one."

He seemed doubtful for a few moments before standing confidently and concentrating on them. She was ready to start roaring, but Catboy sped up to the branch and sat there, looking at her intensely. Black Ear drifted her eyes to him and the pins several times before complaining. "Why are you looking at me like that?!" She stumped her paw on the ground furiously.

Catboy's tail swashed to one side to another elegantly under the branch while he put his hand under his chin. "I'm just observing what you do, that's all."  
He said, motioning his hand in a deliberate manner.

Black Ear scoffed. "Can you stop it? You are distracting me!" The tuft on her ears was all mated now and her fur was a little fluffed on the back. Catboy chuckled and nodded, looking away falsely. Black Ear aimed her Caracal Roar, but as soon as she used it, all the pins flew a few feet away. Her ears pinned down on defeat and she looked at Catboy.

"I failed..." She said sadly.

"Just keep trying," He moved around on the branch. "Failure is the key to success."

Cotton giggled and whispered to Crash. "Sometimes he talks funny." Crash nodded and both laughed quietly. Catboy smiled tenderly and fixed his gaze on Black Ear again as she prepared to aim her Caracal Roar.

"Target the bowling pin, concentrate on the actual object." He yelled from the branch. Black Ear narrowed her eyes, standing still for a few minutes before yelling:

"Super Caracal Roar!" And only the two first bowling pins flew away. Crash and Cotton clapped behind her and she showed an air of sufficiency. She looked with gleamy eyes at Catboy. "I almost got it!" She exclaimed joyfully.

"Almost! Keep trying and you'll get it!" He encouraged her. She nodded and kept trying a few more times.

While she did, Catboy sat calmly on the branch, feeling the wind against his ears again. It was relaxing, there were no other sounds besides of Black Ear's roar and the sounds of crickets on the forest eased the shaky feeling he had. He still could smell the sour and deathly scented smell, which triggered his stomach a bit, but it wasn't as strong as it was on the ground.

After a few minutes, he decided Black Ear needed to step up. He stood up on the branch and put his paw in front of him while Black Ear was concentrating again on her target. He pressed his paw against the bark and rhythmically shook his leg on the branch, making the leaves fall and crack and the pine cones hit against each other.

Black Ear used her Caracal Roar, but when Catboy moved the branch, she diverted her gaze from the bowling pin for a second and her power aimed for a pine instead. She clenched her mouth shut and shook her head. She focused again on the bowling pin and aimed her Caracal Roar at it, but Catboy shook the branch and she missed her aim again, this time throwing off other bowling pins.

She lowered her ears in annoyance and looked at Catboy. Catboy looked back amusedly and raised a finger. "You learned to aim to your objective, now learn to keep focused on it." Black Ear scoffed and looked back at the bowling pin and while she still threw them off with her Caracal Roar, Catboy kept jumping on the branch, each time finding something different to make sounds with.

At some point, Cotton and Crash started laughing at the whole situation and the sounds on the place were high enough to deconcentrate Black Ear from the bowling pin. She stopped for a few moments before positioning herself and keep a straight look on the bowling pin. Catboy hadn't stopped, not even for a second, and when Black Ear used her Caracal Roar, she threw away the last bowling pin, leaving there none.

Catboy stopped and looked at her proudly and satisfied. When she looked at him with gleamy eyes, he nodded in approval and climbed down the pine, trotting up to her. She bounced around him happily. "Have you seen that?! I did it!" She exclaimed proudly.

Catboy chuckled. "Yes, you did." The other two joined Black Ear in her cheering and the three of them shared a few laughs before Catboy caught their attention. "You'll practice this at least once each night, so you can become better at it." He looked at Crash. "Your turn now, Bandicoot." He walked past Crash and ruffled his hair in a friendly manner and he followed close behind.

Catboy stopped beside the bag he used to carry the training elements and took from it a blindfold. Crash tilted his head confused and asked. "How is a blindfold gonna help my jumps?"

Catboy faced him with the blindfold in hand. "They won't, but I think they might help with something else." If his assumption was right, then Crash had hearing powers like his. Crash looked confused and Catboy handed him the blindfold. "I hadn't been able to communicate with Lightning Fur, my animal totem, but I thought about a few powers you," He looked at Crash. "And you," He looked at Cotton. "Might have."

Cotton smiled widely. "Really? I will discover my powers tonight?" She put her hands together hopeful.

Catboy smiled while he put the blindfold on Crash. "Hopefully." Once Crash had the blindfold over his eyes, he looked around and moved his head each time Catboy moved to one side to another. "I think you might have hearing powers, Crash. Last night you had trouble walking on the dark path of the forest, but you could hear as well as I that there was a river near, which your companions couldn't hear."

"I thought I just had good hearing..." Crash said shyly.

Catboy approached him. "And you do, thanks to your powers. Try Super Bandicoot Ears, let's see what happens."

Crash nodded and then exclaimed. "Super Bandicoot Ears!" As expected, the markings on his suit, especially the long orange stripe on his back, glowed and then he found himself covering his ears. "Ah! Too many sounds!" He said.

Catboy kneeled in front of him and talked. "I know, so listen to my voice, alright? Don't pay attention to anything but my voice." Catboy started humming a song and little by little, Crash started uncovering his ears until they only kept focused to where Catboy was. "Better?" He asked.

Crash nodded and then his markings stopped glowing. "Yeah, they were really loud, your voice slowed them down." He slightly pulled the blindfold over his eyes. "But I still don't understand why am I using a blindfold."

"Because," Catboy pulled the blindfold down once more. "You'll learn how to use your ears first." He walked over to Cotton and said. "Cotton will be carrying with her a small object that has a distinctive sound than the other objects Black Ear and I'll play. Focus on it and follow it, if you fail and end up with me or Black Ear, you go back to your starting spot until you find which one it is."

Crash nodded. "Okay."

Catboy looked at the girls and winked at them. The two girls smiled and put their thumbs up before running inside the forest while Catboy climbed up the nearest pine to keep an eye on Crash. He looked at the objects on his hands: claves, maracas, and castanets. He was gonna make them sound each time Crash would get near Cotton as her object, a paper ball, was the one Crash was supposed to be hearing. Black Ear had with her a triangle and a small silver bell.

He jumped to the next branch using his Cat Jump and spotted Black Ear. She looked at him questioningly and he nodded, giving her the approval to start making any of the objects rings. She started using the bell and as soon as she did, Cotton started to dent the paper ball on her hand and he played the maracas very loudly near Cotton.

From his spot near Cotton, he could see Crash doubtfully stepping into the forest, motioning his ears to the different places the sounds came from. Catboy leaped from the branch to the nearest rock to Cotton and sat there, playing the maracas happily.

Crash was following the sound of the paper ball being dented, but stopped and with a doubtful expression, followed the bell Black Ear was making ring. Once he reached Black Ear, he took his blindfold off and sighed with an annoyed expression. He walked back to his starting spot and after a minute, everyone started making sounds again, this time different.

Crash looked to Cotton first, curiously, then at Black Ear and finally Catboy. Catboy leaped to another rock and changed instruments, now playing the castanets, whose sound made Crash flinch. Crash decided to follow those ones and when he took his blindfold off and discover it was Catboy, he shook his head in defeat and walked tiredly back to the starting spot.

Crash was waiting for the others to make the instruments sound. It's been 20 minutes now since they started and he was getting really annoyed at ending with Catboy or Black Ear. These time they were gonna change their sounds and play completely new ones.

He heard a flute sound not so far ahead and then the other noises started. His ears kinda hurt of hearing so many noises two times louder, but he needed to keep going so he could be better with them. He needed to make Catboy proud as Black Ear did.

He avoided the first sound, which was the flute, it wasn't there before and therefore it was a new sound that Catboy or Black Ear were making. He trotted to a different sound: a branch cracking and leaves falling. He stopped for a few seconds to think; it wasn't the sound he was looking for, Catboy had been on branches before, maybe it was him on the pines distracting him.

He kept walking concentrated. There were only two sounds that remained: the paper ball and the maracas. Both had been making noise since he started, but only one of them did it every time. He thought. _The Maracas was the first noise I heard when we started..._ He smiled in realization. _Then that means that the paper ball is the sound I'm looking for!_

He puffed his chest proudly and walked with confident steps over to where the paper ball was. He heard the other noises around him but knew that Catboy and Black Ear were the ones doing them. Once the denting became louder, he stopped and took his blindfold off and faced Cotton. "This is the sound!" He exclaimed.

Catboy leaped from the branch above and Black Ear approached. Catboy took the blindfold from Crash's head and ruffled his fur. "Well done!" He smiled at Catboy and felt warm on his chest. _I made Catboy proud of me!_ The sensation didn't last long until he heard other voices other than his friend's.

 _Hurry, through the hole on the back!_

 _What is happening?_

 _They found us, we need to move!_

Who found who? Crash was confused. He didn't recognize these voices, but he definitely could make up on his mind that they were on a place near the slope, he could hear the knocking of small rocks on the ground and the distinctive sound of dust.

 _I told you we needed to move sooner, now we are gonna get caught!_

 _It's not my fault! I just though_

 _Well, you thought wrong, Riley!_ Whoever was talking, it was a girl, and she definitely didn't sound happy at whoever Riley was. _Now we need to climb up that thing with your little boyfriend injured!_

 _He's not my boyfriend!_

 _Hush you two, it's not the time for arguing, help Federico up and let's get out of here!_ A girl whispered, but it wasn't the same one as before, it was another one. Her voice didn't sound as deep as the other.

Crash was brought back to his reality by Catboy. "Are you okay? You seemed lost for a second." Crash blinked at him before hearing the voices again.

 _Greg, check the back of the house for trouble, I'll watch their backs._ For a moment there was silence until he heard more voices and then the chaos started. They all sounded scared and desperate and were trying to run away from wherever they were and whoever wanted them. Crash shook his head and looked at Catboy on the eyes.

 _"Someone is in trouble."_

* * *

Greg was punching the face of the huge man that was lifting him by the waist. He had poked his head out to check for the gang that chased them early that afternoon but had been caught by the man that had chased him and Federico, Greg could distinguish his voice. They all had fallen asleep inside the house and were awaken by the sound of debris falling down and deep voices outside.

"You are gonna be a good one for the market." Said the man who was holding him. He had deep blue eyes and three scars in his face, one over the nose, other across the eye and the last one on the cheek.

Amaya and the others fled through another hole as soon as he was caught, he had instructed them several times that if something ever happened to him and they were in grave danger, that they should leave him behind and go away; he didn't want any of his friends to be harmed.

He saw Silver and Riley helping Federico up the slope while Amaya threw rocks from the fallen house to the ones chasing them. The man that was holding him had squished him hard enough that Greg felt breathless. At some point, due to the lack of air, he gave up and the man followed his companions up the slope after his teammates.

He started wiggling again and the man used his hand to squizz Greg's cheeks and keep his head on place. "Watch as how they get annihilated." Then he laughed evilly. "Well, at least the violet-haired one. The other three might be good deals for my costumes." Greg watched in horror how three men huddled around Amaya and grabbed her.

Riley looked back and let go of Federico to ran to Amaya's help, but didn't get far as he got stabbed on the leg and fell to the ground. Other two ran up the slope and caught Silver first then Federico.

The man who had him walked to the sides of his comrades and they all laughed. He talked. "Guys, we got ourselves a good deal. Verina will be very happy with these ones." He looked at Riley and said. "Except for that one, you can kill him the way you want."

The one on top of Riley, a slender and long-faced man with amber eyes grinned. "Finally, some fun." He took from his pocket a dagger and pulled Riley from the hair, exposing his neck. "I think I'm up for some slicing, Bleeder." They all laughed while he teased Riley with the dagger, caressing his exposed skin with the blade.

Greg kicked Bleeder's leg, but the other punched the side of his head. "Keep still!" He grinned and whispered on Greg's ear. "You are a bad one, your owner will very much like you."

Greg felt chills ran down his spine, and out of anger, he spat on Bleeder's face. "I'm nobody's property!"

Bleeder madly looked at him, wrath clear in his eyes. "Oh, you little-"

Bleeder couldn't finish his sentence as a screech of anger filled the place and a blue blur landed on both Greg and Bleeder. Greg rolled down the slope until he stopped himself and confusedly looked up to where Bleeder was being attacked, his heart skipped a beat. On the man's face, there was Catboy, slicing his cheek with his claws furiously and with a spark of rage in his blue electric eyes.

The man that was messing with Riley before looked frightened. "The cat man is back! Let's go!" Two of them fled away, but the other three still hold Amaya and were willing to take her with them. Riley rolled on his side and then jumped down the slope after the three who had Amaya, Greg followed them as well.

The three men had been prepared for them, as they took out guns and daggers and started aiming at them. Greg avoided another bullet for the second time today, and he found himself laying on the ground while the sleek man stood over him, the gun on his forehead. "Bye-bye, blondie."

"Super Caracal Roar!" The man above him flew away after a huge wave of sound shot him and sent him flying. Greg looked at how he rolled down the slope in fear and ran away through the streets. Greg looked at his savior and saw a small and thin girl beside him looking proud, she noticed him and extended a hand.

Greg took it and he stabilized himself enough to stand up. "Thanks..." Confusedly he looked at her. "Who are you?"

She smiled. "The name's Black Ear, I'm a hero." He noticed Riley struggling with the other two while he protected Amaya with a bleeding leg. Two other kids like Black Ear ran up to them and the grey-colored hero, a girl, spun around and covered in dust the face of men. The orange-colored hero ran past her and with his suit lightning up, he powerfully kicked the two standing man down the slope.

They looked at each other amazed and the girl with a fluffy and grey costume jumped happily. "Have you seen that, Crash? I discovered one of my powers! I discovered one of my powers!"

Crash smiled at her too. "I discover a new one too, Cotton!" Greg looked at the three of them confused. _Crash? Black Ear? **Cotton?**_ Black Ear walked to Crash and Cotton and the three of them cheered. Silver and Federico were watching from the top of the slope and Amaya and Riley looked as confused as him.

Cotton ran up to Catboy and ran around him happily. "Have you seen that, Catboy? I found one of my powers! Now I can be like you, too!" At the mention of Catboy, Amaya ran up to him and hugged him.

"You are okay!"

Catboy smiled and hugged her back. "Of course I am, duh." The other approached him, Riley and Silver with a relaxed expression and happy expression and Federico delighted.

"We thought you were long gone by now." Riley joked. After hearing the jokingly tone Riley used, Catboy smiled and scratched the back of his head, then he met his eyes. Greg tensed for a bit and then looked away, but then said.

"Thanks, for saving me." He looked at Catboy from his peripheral vision, who seemed rather surprised that he was even talking to him, and nodded while he pulled a little smile. The three kids looked at all of them curiously and examined them.

Black Ear walked over to Riley, Silver, and Federico. "Who are you? Do you know Catboy?" She didn't let them answer as she kept questioning them. "Why are you hurt? Have those men do that?" She said, pointing at Riley and Federico's legs.

"Black Ear! Pointing is bad behavior." Catboy scolded. She giggled ashamed and apologized, but he looked at them. "What happened to you two?"

Riley and Federico shared a glare. Riley answered. "I got stabbed, but he got shot."

Catboy nudged the three kids and said. "Let's go then, you need to get that treated."

Greg shared a confused glare with Silver. "Go? Go where?"

Catboy stopped on top of the slope and motioned his ears ahead, he said. "To HQ."

They all opened their eyes in surprise and got the top of the slope. Greg's mouth hung open. "No. Way." On the clearing ahead, standing right there near the forest of pine trees was a tall, with white lines on the sides, Totem Pole with three doors on each level, just like their HQ. He looked at Catboy who was watching the three little heroes run down the slope playfully and said. "Where does _that_ come from?" He pointed at Crash, Black Ear and Cotton. "Where do _they_ come from?" Greg looked around bewildered. "What is happening here?"

Catboy started climbing down, following the kids before they got lost of his sight. "This is what I came here for." Greg helped Riley down the slope while Silver and Amaya helped Federico, whose leg didn't function at all.

Greg looked at him. "You don't feel your leg?"

Federico looked back at him. "Not at all, I think the bullet had something in it."

"They tried to immobilize you, not tried to kill you." Grunted Riley in pain while holding his own leg. He looked at Greg. "If they had shot you somewhere else-"

"Then I would've had passed out and they would've got me." Greg concluded. They quiet down while making their through the clearing and into HQ, ahead,  
he could hear the little heroes laughing and playing around. He watched Catboy keeping an eye on them while he cast them a warm glance, he felt warm inside when he thought of how protective he was of the little ones.

He remembered last year when Connor had talked with him about the thought of having kids, that he was looking for it. Greg knew Connor loved kids and had always desire to have a little brother, or sister, to play with. Katrina had told Connor he had a twin sister, but she died three days after they both were born, and that had made Connor very sad and every now and then he thinks about her and how different his life would've been if she lived.

They went inside HQ once they got to the door, and he saw how Cotton showed her finger to a small lent, even though she didn't have any ring or anything.  
Greg took a look inside of each room and tried to spot every difference with his own HQ. Crash's room, he concluded, was rusty and had a more rustic motif to it, he kinda liked it.

They entered the elevators' room and Greg find himself a little closeted in there, and he decided he didn't like it. They went to the main room, which was a yellow one and clearly Black Ear's, and Catboy trotted over to another picture player to tap some buttons. A wall spun and a lot of medical tools were hanging on there, there was a red first aid kit right in the middle and Catboy grabbed it and walked over to Riley while Amaya and Silver grabbed other stuff from the wall too.

Greg took a look around. "Fancy." He said. "This is fancy." He looked at Catboy treating Riley's wounds. "You still need to explain what is happening here."

Catboy, cleaning Riley's leg with povidone, answered. "Lightning Fur came to me four days ago telling me that a group of Animal Totems had asked for my help to train their little ones." He looked quickly at Crash, Cotton and Black Ear and said. "Unstransform, we'll be here for a while." He went back on Riley's leg when the other boy grunted in pain. "When I came here I almost got robbed too, by the same people I believe, but I fought them off as Catboy and they saw me, their Totems gave them their powers after that."

"That's how they knew who you were- Ouch!" Federico said and then looked at Amaya and Silver with the bullet on a forceps.

"We got it out." Silver held the bullet up and smiled triumphantly.

Greg giggled and watched Crash, who now was out of his costume and had ginger and dark skin with light splotches, wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Yucky." Greg shared a quick glance with Connor and both smiled amusedly; they used to be that way when they were younger, now it was completely normal for them to be pulling out weird stuff from their own wounds.

When Greg noticed he was _actually_ sharing something good with Connor, he looked away. _What's wrong with me?_ He didn't know why... it felt normal to be sharing that kind of glares with him, but each time he remembered that Connor _lied_ to them all, it didn't seem real and he felt lied to, hurt. He shook his head though, he was fussing over something that was already over, _he needed to move on_ , but then why?

Why didn't he want to?

* * *

It was late at night, 2 AM to be precise, and Amaya -or more like Owlette- was watching Catboy train the little heroes, or Petit Masks as Connor told her before. She was hovering on the air above Black Ear and Crash while Catboy tried to figure out ways to help Cotton with her new power: Super Chinchilla Dust.

She flew over to them and Catboy looked thoughtful. "I don't get it, what did she do to dust their faces? When she uses the power all she does is cover the whole area we are standing on with a huge cloud of dust." He said, Cotton looked at her feet and occasionally at Owlette.

Owlette flew to her side. "I think someone's rather shy about my presence." She said in a friendly manner. Cotton looked at her while fidgeting in place, and Catboy looked back and forth between her and Owlette.

"Do you feel uncomfortable with her here, Cotton?" Catboy asked quietly.

Owlette looked at Catboy. "Do you want me to leave?"

Cotton shook her head and both Catboy and Owlette giggled. Owlette flew down to the ground and walked to her side. "I can help you with your powers if you want, I have something similar, it's called Super Owl Feathers!"

Cotton's eyes shone brightly. "Really? And what do they do?"

Owlette smiled proudly. "This!" She used her Owl Feathers and stuck them in a pine tree nearby in a perfect line. "It's mostly aiming, just like your power."

Cotton looked at Catboy. "She is really cool!" Cotton ran to Owlette and begged. "Please, help me with my powers!" Owlette smiled and nodded, she quickly glanced at Catboy and he nodded back at her. He gave his back to her when he walked over to Crash and she focused on Cotton.

"Okay, so your Chinchilla Dust is like my power, alright? You need to aim the dust at something or someone to dust it and avoid something bad from happening." She recalled the events from earlier tonight. "Remember when you dusted those evil guys' faces? What did you think about?"

Cotton looked at her feet again. "I just thought that I needed to do something to help, and I looked at them and I felt angry!" She said, narrowing her eyebrows together. "That's when my Dust shot itself."

"Well, you were thinking of them when your power showed up, if you think about your objective as you did with those bad guys, maybe it will happen again." Owlette reasoned. She flew not so far into the sky and caught Cotton's attention. "I'll be here, focus on me and use the power."

Cotton seemed uncertain. "I don't know... what if I hit you too hard?"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Owlette reassured her.

Cotton made a little smile and concentrated on Owlette for a few seconds before shouting: "Super Chinchilla Dust!" A trail of dust flew over to Owlette and soon Owlette found herself not being able to see anything but lilac dust. After two minutes, the dust dispersed and Owlette could see again. The first thing she saw was Catboy looking at her amusedly with Crash and Black Ear while Cotton looked relieved that she got rid of her dust.

Owlette flew down and sighed in relief. "I freaked out for a moment, that dust is powerful!" She stated.

Catboy and the Petit Masks laughed at her commentary and they kept practicing until the watch on Owlette's cellphone told them it was 4 AM in the morning. The Petit Masks were clearly tired, and so were their other teammates. Silver had fetched the kids and took them inside as Catboy and Owlette still weren't tired and decided to take a walk on the forest.

Owlette, flying over Catboy, smiled. "You know? You are really good with kids." She took a glance on the way they came. "Especially those."

Catboy, who was trotting under her, laughed. "I like kids, and Hope, Vita, and Unità are really special." He looked up to her and said. "Maybe you don't understand, but I feel that way about them," He sighed happily. "They make me happy, I would die if something ever happened to them." He arched an eyebrow. "How did you find me anyway?"

"You texted Federico that you were heading to Milennia Town," Owlette replied.

"Oh, I know that I meant-" He leaped on a rock then on a branch, startling a few finches on their nests. "How did you find me here, on the lows of town?"

"There was this boy, Barry, he works on a shop for kids and he told me that he knew the Petit Masks and most of the time took care of them," Owlette explained while she sat on the branch in front of Catboy. "Another worker, Izzy, had seen you in the store with the three of them and I thought that if I knew where the kids were, then we would find you."

"More like I found you," Catboy said amusedly then snorted. "Well, actually it was Crash, he has Super Ears and heard you in trouble. When I used mine I recognized your voices and sped into action."

"I'm glad you did when you did, we were on -serious- trouble." She relaxed. "Thanks." She looked at him for several seconds and the lowered her head.  
"I'm sorry, too."

Catboy tilted his head in confusion. "Sorry for what?"

"For... ignoring you, for leaving you alone. I should've said something when you asked for our help." Owlette murmured.

"I don't blame you. Honestly?" Owlette looked at him. "If it was you in my paws, then maybe I would've acted the same." He looked up to the moon while black clouds passed slowly, Owlette followed. "I hurt you, all of you, with my lies and I understand that now... I don't expect you to forgive me that easily." He sighed and closed his eyes. "Heck, I lied to you for almost a year, how are you even talking to me?" He laughed but with a pained expression.

Owlette clearly noticed how bad he felt about that, and she saw that now. He tried several times to apologize, but Greg or Silver, or even Riley, didn't let him. How did she let herself be manipulated into that anyway? She looked at him. "We left you alone half of Fall and all of the Winter, it's time we move on. Don't you think?"

Catboy smiled sadly and nodded, grateful. Owlette chuckled and said. "Also, off topic, but you are gonna be the best father out of all of us."

Catboy laughed. "You are gonna be a great mom yourself, Owlette. I don't doubt that." He grabbed her shoulder and shake her gently. "I can already picture you with your future wife, all happy and with two kids running around you fighting over you."

It was Owlette's turn to laugh. "I picture you with your future husband with more than just two kids." Catboy had an amused spark on his eyes. "Whoever hooks up with you will be tied to seven kids in the future." Owlette joked and both laughed heartedly.

They kept talking and joking around until the sky was fully covered by black clouds and rain started to pour down.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review! Reviews mean a lot to me and that way it will be easier to keep writing this and other stories I have planned :) Thanks for reading!

-Dapple


	8. Chapter 7: Sinking Feeling

This is a short one, sorry, but next one will be longer, I promise!

* * *

Chapter 7: Sinking feeling.

It was late in the afternoon and the sun was hiding already, an orange and yellow sky indicated it was sunset. Connor walked beside Amaya, animatedly talking with her. They had been all day shopping and at the same time, touring Milennia Town. Since they arrived they hadn't had time to do so, at least not as they wanted, a now that the kids weren't with them and they were all together, why not take that chance?

It was a slow walk on the slope, which was the safest route to take to go back to HQ with _new_ stuff. They only had to follow the tracks of the old train that used to ran through it, as Barry, who they met again today, instructed. Connor had been on a good mood all day... or week. It seemed as if the team mostly forgot about the whole _betrayal_ thing and moved on, but not entirely, as sometimes they doubted him on certain decisions.

Right now though, that was at the back of his mind. He stared amusedly at Amaya. "I remember! Foxwolf wouldn't stop jumping on us!"

Amaya put a hand over her stomach while the other held the shopping bags. "He wouldn't stop being scared of rats! I wonder what they did to scare him so much." She said.

Connor wiped away a tear. "I wonder that too..." They were talking about a mission in the under tunnels of the Tarabiscoville a year ago.

He noticed Amaya smiling at him and pinched him on the side with her elbow. "You and Federico had been pretty close lately, _pretty_ close." She bumped into his side. "Want to explain?"

Connor rolled his eyes with a smile. "We are nothing, Amaya, we'll never be it. I thought I explained to you _why_."

"I know he's your ex, but sometimes feelings don't go away."

Connor stopped for a second and looked at her. "There weren't feelings for starters, there were..." He looked away. "... _other things_... but never feelings."

"So these _other things-_ " Amaya tapped with her finger a purple spot on Connor's neck. "Are still there?" She eyed him amusedly.

Connor covered his neck with his jacket. "N-No..."

"Hah! Caught you red-handed." She laughed. Connor pushed her playfully, carefully not to throw her down the slope. _Maybe_ he had involved himself with Federico a few times since the _betrayal_ incident, but they didn't really mean anything more than fun.

Connor accidentally dropped his bag and as he kneeled down to grab it, someone bumped into him. He looked up to see Greg. "Sorry." Said the blonde then quickly looked back down to his cellphone. He had come with them but didn't say a word at all, only when something he liked caught his eye.

Connor stood up and exchanged a glance with Amaya. Greg had been trying really hard this last week to be useful on something, none of the kids shared any power or quality he could help on, and he's been feeling rather useless. Connor smiled back awkwardly. "You'll surely find something to do tonight."

Greg looked up and took a few seconds to process what the brunette said. He shook his head. "O-Oh, yeah, I hope so." They kept walking silently until the tracks buried themselves under the overgrown grass. They carefully descended into the clearing, heading towards HQ.

Greg still used his cellphone and Connor curiously walked beside him, taking a quick glance at the screen. "Bandicoot facts?" He smiled.

Greg looked at him. "There's surely something I can do, and I wanna figure it out before tonight, I don't like standing on one side while everyone is being helpful." He explained. They kept walking silently.

"Well, these could actually be useful." Connor burst out suddenly. Greg only nodded, looking only at the screen.

Connor bit his lip and slightly blushed. _Why do I even try?_ He trotted ahead with Amaya and stood in front of the door. He put his finger over the lent and after a few minutes, Crash opened the door, his eyes bright.

"Connor's back!"

"Uh, hey, I exist too!" Amaya said, and Crash and Connor laughed. They accompanied Crash inside, and as soon as Connor set foot on Crash's Room, he was knocked off his feet.

"You're back!" Black Ear and Cotton exclaimed in unison.

"We missed you." Cotton said. "You were gone all day!"

Greg and Amaya looked at Connor from above with an amused smile, he sat up and brushed Cotton's head. "I was doing some shopping, for you."

"For us?!" Black Ear burst. "What is it?" She eyed him excited.

Connor faced away. "I don't know."

The kids pouted. "Come on, tell us!" Crash pleaded.

Connor shook his head. "Let's see how your training is going and _maybe_ I'll give you what I bought." The kids protested, and as soon as Connor stood up, Badgerclaw entered with a freaked out expression that faded away as soon as he saw the kids. He tapped the side of his head where the ear was located.

"Snowfox, Foxwolf, they are here." He looked at the trio. "They slipped away from training," Then turned to the kids. "We were sick worried about you!"

The kids only snickered but Connor cast them a glance, he arched an eyebrow and they shifted in their places. "That's not something we do, apologize."

"Sorry, Badgerclaw..." They apologized and Connor nodded.

"Go with him and wait for us outside, and never do that again." They nodded and left beside Badgerclaw.

* * *

Gekko sat on the log, watching the others help the kids with their powers. He had tried all day to search for something he could do, and clearly, failing miserably. He put his hand under his jaw and sighed.

He looked over at Foxwolf and Owlette, helping Black Ear with her Caracal Roar and Caracal Sight. Black Ear was a handful one, she was super energetic compared to her friends and mostly ended up doing things her way. She reminded him of Catboy when he was younger... how he hated when he did all that, but such memory made him feel warm and he smiled; Things were great back then.

He was startled by Catboy jumping up on the tree and shortly after followed by Crash. "Excellent!" Catboy praised. Then both of them kept jumping on the branches.

Badgerclaw, from the ground, shout: "Use your claws to get a better grip on the branch! Use your tail to balance you!" He followed them as they moved, and Gekko followed with his gaze until he heard Cotton using her powers.

Snowfox used her Frost Shield to protect herself from Cotton's Chinchilla Dust power and then melted it once the dust froze. She approached the little one. "You're doing it so much better, you almost got me this time, Fluff." She ruffled her fur and Cotton laughed.

Gekko felt emptiness on his chest as he saw how well they all got along. He sat there, watching everybody, but suddenly he opened his eyes in realization. _Is this how Catboy felt? Loneliness?_ For the past week, he's been trying to forget what happened and move on, either picking small conversations or trying to support the other. Of course, it wasn't easy, and most of their exchanges were awkward, but it progressed.

Suddenly the ground started shaking and after a flash of blue light, a part of the ground sank into a hole, swallowing several pine trees and logs. Gekko reached out of its way just in time, but unfortunately, the pine tree Crash was standing on and the piece of ground Cotton was practicing on sank, swallowing the kids with them.

"Crash! Cotton!" Catboy cried. He ran instantly to where the kids were swallowed, but Gekko noticed that if he did, he was gonna be sucked in too. He used his Gekko Muscles and caught Catboy on time. "What are you doing?! Let me go! I need to help them!"

"You don't help them being _down there_ with them!" Gekko pointed out, struggling to maintain him. Once the rest was safe, they ran to the border of the hole and looked down. It was pretty deep, and now that it was raining slightly, muddy as well. Gekko kept Catboy into safety as he leaned down in the hole.

"Kids?! Are you there?!" He was obviously freaking out.

"We are fine!" It was Cotton.

Relief ran through his body and Gekko could feel Catboy relaxing. "Don't worry, we are getting you out!" Gekko said and heard faintly agreements from deep down. He put a hand on Catboy's shoulder, he knew how much he cared for them. "We are getting them out soon, don't worry."

Catboy looked at him gratefully and backed up. He looked at the rest. "How are we getting them out?"

Gekko watched as they discussed different ideas of how to get them, but drifted his gaze as Black Ear sat near a pine. He walked up to her. "Are you worried about them?"

She nodded. "Yeah... What if they are hurt and we don't notice?" She grabbed a pine cone and angrily tossed it into the hole. "I wish I was strong enough to pull a tree out, that way I could help them up."

Gekko opened his eyes in realization. "It could reach down, and they could climb it." He said, staring blankly ahead. He shook his head with a smile. "Black Ear, you're a genius!"

She looked confused. "I am?" Then she smiled. "I am!"

Gekko ran past the others, gaining confused glances. He watched all the trees around carefully. They all were similar, tall, which was good, but thin, which didn't help at all, as it risked the branch breaking in two as they climbed. His eyes laid on a tall pine tree that was mostly out of leaves and that was thicker than the rest. The tree, sticking half-way out of the ground, moved slightly to where the hole was, and Gekko picked that one as he thought it would be the best choice. He ran to it and hugged it.

"Gekko, what are you doing?" Snowfox asked.

Gekko struggled to get it out. "I'm going to hold the tree down so they can climb it!" He explained. He couldn't move the tree farther as something was pulling it back. He looked back and saw the roots being pulled with the tree. He was running out of air; it was heavier than he expected.

Owlette flew up to the branch and helped him hold the tree, flapping her wings furiously. Catboy saw the struggle and determination on Gekko's eyes, so he, Foxwolf, Badgerclaw, and Snowfox ran beside Gekko and Catboy looked at him determined. "What do we do?"

"Untie the roots!" Gekko instructed as he hugged the tree even stronger, which made his chest hurt a lot. "Badgerclaw, Snowfox, cut the roots, your claws are stronger and larger than Catboy's and Foxwolf's." He looked at them. "No offense."

"None took." Foxwolf, preparing his own claws.

Gekko caught the tree before it fell over them. "You and Catboy dig them out, it'll be easier for Badgerclaw and Snowfox to cut them, they are too big to preserve." Both of them nodded. "At my call, ready?" They prepared and nodded. Gekko held the tree stronger with Owlette's help. "Dig!"

Catboy and Foxwolf dug furiously around the roots, leaving space around them so Badgerclaw and Snowfox could cut them. Catboy went for sides, while Foxwolf dug them under. "Clear!" Catboy shout.

"Cut them, now!" Badgerclaw's claws glowed neon purple and he started to cut them. Snowfox's glowed neon cyan and the roots froze and she broke them easily.

Gekko didn't think of how heavy the tree would be once the roots were cleared, and he loose balance, leading the tree in the wrong direction. Terror surged through him. _I'm gonna be crushed!_

He heard steps hurriedly running toward him. "Super Caracal Roar!"

The huge wave of sound that Black Ear produced was strong enough to lead the tree in the direction Gekko wanted. He had trouble leading it down the hole, but with Badgerclaw's strength and the others leading the tree as well, he managed to pull it down. "Crash, Cotton, move!"

He didn't know if they did manage to move out of the way as the tree touched the ground. He saw their suits glow and he was relieved they were close to the wall of the hole. Catboy tried to climb down the tree but found it was too wet to be climbed down. Gekko held his breath for a moment and used his Lizard Grip to stick to the tree, casting a reassuring glance at Catboy before climbing down.

The two kids were wet and full of mud, and when Gekko stepped in what he thought was the ground, he found his leg be swallowed by the mud up to the knee. "Damn." He said and hurried to the kids. They looked shaken to their bones. Gekko holds Crash up first. "I'm gonna climb him up and then come down for you, alright? The three of us in the tree might not be safe."

Cotton nodded and followed Gekko, waiting at the foot of the branch while Gekko climbed with Crash. Catboy held a hand and took Crash with him, and Gekko climbed down once more. He took Cotton with him, but midway up, the ground shook again before lightning struck and in desperation for the little girl, he loose grip on the branch and slipped on the side.

Cotton was scared and gripped onto the branch as if it depended on her life. "Gekko, I'm scared! I want Catboy!" He was hanging from a branch on the side with one hand and the other had a big piece of wood stuck across it.

"Everything will be alright, Cotton!" He said though he wasn't sure how accurate it was; he was slipping. "You just need to be brave," He thought of something quickly. "Like Catboy!"

She looked at him and then up, then back at him again. She loosed her grip and started carefully slipping down to where he was, she reached a hand to him. He didn't get to tell her to put herself safe before the branch broke in half.

"No!" She cried. Her suit lighted up and she jumped after him.

Gekko feared for a moment both of them would fall to their end and was astonished when she stuck to the branch and held him tight with her hands. "You've got Super Grip!" He exclaimed astounded. They climbed up on the tree again and headed up, Gekko with his Lizard Grip and Cotton with her Chinchilla Pads.

Catboy hugged her once she was on safety and Gekko smiled, painfully holding his hand. Catboy noticed and helped him up. "Let's go, you need to get that treated." He nodded and they all headed back to HQ.

* * *

Greg sat on the ground while Connor carefully cleaned his hand. Everything was quiet around the room. Unità was sleeping beside Amaya, both snoring calmly. Badgerclaw and Foxwolf were with Hope on his HQ Room and Silver was currently giving Vita a bath.

"This might hurt a bit," Connor warned him.

Greg gritted his teeth in pain and said. "Do what you gotta do."

Greg closed his eyes as Connor started to pull out the piece of wood he had across his hand. He breathed curtly and once Connor was done, he grunted. "Stupid branch."

Connor glared amusedly at him then used the gag to clean up all the blood coming from his hand. Luckily Greg had instructed him how to pull it out, so no more damage was done. "You are still the bravest of us all when it comes to wounds," Connor said while covering Greg's hand with bandages.

Greg looked at the gags full of blood beside Connor. "Last time I checked you didn't even flinch when Amaya did you stitches."

Connor grimaced. "I was... holding back." Both of them laughed and Connor finished wrapping Greg's hand. Greg looked at him. _Maybe this is the best time..._

He took a deep breath. "Connor," Connor looked at him, expectantly. "I just, thanks." Greg looked down. "Even after how I treated you, you keep saving my ass." He laughed awkwardly. "You're still my-" Greg didn't get to finish as Foxwolf appeared on the room. He glanced at Connor and smiled.

"Ready?"

Connor looked at Greg and his hand, and Greg nodded, disappointed. "Where are you going?" He asked defeated, but curious about what the other two were gonna do.

Connor, as he walked towards Foxwolf, said. "We are gonna check the hole the kids fell in, maybe there's something that tells us what caused it." He stopped beside the pink-eyed boy and eyed Greg. "Wanna come?"

Greg looked at his injured hand and smiled. "Nah, I'll stay behind. You go and have fun." He winked.

Federico only went down and Connor rolled his eyes incredulous. "I can't believe you _nor_ Amaya." He said while Greg laughed. He waved and the other followed the pink hero out.

Greg sighed. He wanted to apologize, but something always got in the way, it's been like that for a week. He wanted at least _one_ moment alone with Connor so he could say _sorry._ Nothing would let him, and he was getting really annoyed. Why was the world against it?

 _Was there something else he had to do before he could say sorry_?

* * *

Outside HQ, the sky was covered by passing clouds that turned the color of the sky into a more pinkish color. Connor, now as Catboy, walked through the forest beside Foxwolf. They had decided to explore the hole on the ground that formed two hours ago. He _hated_ the wet feeling that the forest created, the humid air, it made him feel unsettled.

"Cats hate water, no wonder you like them so much." Foxwolf, who brushed his arm with his long fur, joked.

Catboy let out a _purr_ of amusement. "That's not why I like them, y'know?"

"Yeah, talk me into it," Foxwolf said sarcastically. Both of them laughed and Foxwolf asked. "What do you think it caused the ground to collapse?"

Catboy tapped his chin. "I'm not sure..."

Foxwolf looked thoughtful. "Maybe an earthquake? Everything trembled before the collapse."

"I thought about it too," Catboy stated, he stopped as they reached the border of the hole. "but nothing in HQ was damaged and it seems as if it was only this portion of the forest." He pointed around, where only a few meters into the forest were damaged and the other looked as always.

Catboy looked down onto the hole and saw trees and rocks and a lot of logs inside. The other wall of the hole has a weirdly shaped stripe on the middle, which to Catboy looked like a bolt of lightning, or as if someone pulled it apart. He didn't want to think about it, but if this was the possibility, someone else needed to know. "Maybe it wasn't natural."

Foxwolf arched an eyebrow confused, and looked at where Catboy had his eyes on, then opened his eyes worriedly. "Are you implying someone could've done it?"

"It could be... there was a blue light before everything went down." He looked around. "Literally."

"There's no way a regular human could've done this, Catboy. Not even us, and we have powers. If a person really did it, they need to have a lot of power to pull something like this." Foxwolf noticed the sick expression on Catboy's face, and he understood where all the concern came from. He lazed his tail with Catboy's and quietly said. "There's no way she's here, Catboy, no one but us know about this. She can't reach us here."

"But... but-"

Foxwolf cuddled Catboy with his mane. "There's no way, we would've spotted her a while ago. This is an open place, it's not so easy to hide in here."

Catboy sighed. "You're right..." He shook his head. "Sorry, it's just that... I don't know what would I do if she ever reaches the kids. I don't think I'll ever forgive myself if she ever harms them."

"She won't, you don't need to worry about that." Catboy sighed and nodded, and watched the hole once more. He noticed that behind a rock, there was a black hole, it wasn't Black Spot's black holes surely... Foxwolf followed his gaze. "There's a-"

"There's a black hole."

They looked at each other and used the tree from before to climb down; now that it wasn't so wet, it was easier to stick the claws in it and not slip away. Once they reached the bottom, both of them carefully approached the black hole on the wall, prepared for anything that could happen. They both jumped defensively and prepared to attack, only to be welcomed to the entrance of a tunnel. An underground tunnel.

"Oh." It's all they could say. Catboy was about to head back to the three, but he was stopped when a hand grabbed his. He looked at Foxwolf. "Huh?"

"Aren't you curious to know where it leads?" He tilted his head and entered the tunnel. Catboy followed him closely.

Once inside, his suits glowed, revealing that the walls and ceiling of the tunnel were made of rocks, like a path that was meant to be there. They kept walking for some long minutes, and at some point, they reached a huge cave that was full of crystals of different colors, most of them of different shades of orange. They dropped their jaws at the sight. "What is this place?" Foxwolf asked, looking around amazed.

"I don't know." Catboy walked around the crystal, looking for an explanation when he spotted a wood sign in beside a crystal. He kneeled down to grab it and read: _Crash Caves._ Catboy blinked. _Crash Caves?_ _That is not a coincidence._

"There's another path." Foxwolf pointed as he stood beside another huge cave. Catboy trotted to him and they both followed the tunnel for other long minutes before feeling the wind in their faces, which carried an earthy scent with it, probably due to the rain. They burst out of the tunnel, only to be welcomed by the sound of rushing water.

Catboy spotted the edge of the ravine and a bridge that crossed it to the other side. When he spun around, he saw two other huge tunnel entrances besides the one they just got out that were similar. "We need to tell the others, but not now, tomorrow," Catboy said. "Now let's get back to the hole."

Foxwolf stopped him. "But, we already know something other than a natural disaster caused it, what else is can we find?"

Catboy looked at the tunnels and then at Foxwolf. "Do you think whoever caused it used these tunnels?" He looked at the bridge that crossed the ravine.

"Maybe, but who could it be? Who else could know about these tunnels?"

An idea hit Catboy's mind. "Someone who's been here for the longest." He gritted his teeth angrily. "Someone who holds a grudge against us _and_ that knows dangerous people."

The realization hit Foxwolf. "Bleeder."

Catboy nodded. "Exactly, he knows we reside here, and he knows _how_ we look. Of course, it's him." He started to walk ahead. "Let's go, we have everything we need."

"Wait." Catboy looked at Foxwolf. The other one approached him, carefully. "We have everything we need, what's the hurry?" Catboy arched an eyebrow when Foxwolf circled him and brushed his chin with his tail. " _And_ we just discovered a bunch of tunnels that could be... _useful_... to us in many ways..." He walked in the main tunnel. "Don't you wanna find out those ways?" He asked with a desire-laced voice.

Catboy arched an eyebrow, interested now that he knew what the other meant. He walked slowly to his side. "Alright, lead the way."

They both disappeared in the depths of the tunnels.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review! They mean a lot to me :D!

Have a nice week :)


	9. Chapter 8: Wandering

Thanks to everyone who left a review on the last chapter, either here or outside FF! They meant a lot to me and helped me get through this chapter :) Seriously, thanks, and enjoy!

 _Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OCs and the plot of the story._

 _Warning: Mild Violence._

* * *

 _Chapter 8: Wandering_

"These caves are enormous." Gekko gawked. He walked beside Catboy and the three little ones. The rest stayed behind in HQ planning tonight's exercises. "How haven't I've seen them when I climbed down to get Cotton and Crash?"

Catboy moved the tip of his tail. "It was covered by a giant rock, besides," He put his hand on Cotton's and Crash's heads. "You were concentrated on saving these two." He looked at the two. "Have you said thanks?"

Gekko laughed. "They have, Catboy." The kids nodded eagerly and Catboy ruffled their pelts. Gekko smiled warmly. _He's gonna be a great father one day._ They kept walking ahead, with the kids running and playing around them. Everything was silent beside of the kids' laughs, but Gekko found himself comforted by Catboy's presence there, if it had been a week ago he wouldn't even look at him.

He kinda felt annoyed, though. The reason they were exploring the caves was that he wanted to apologize to Catboy, just the two of them alone, but Unità overheard him asking Catboy and then they begged to come along. He didn't have an excuse to say no, nor did he had the heart to say so.

He looked over at Catboy and then smiled. "You and Foxwolf returned pretty late last night, and it didn't take _us_ that long to look around the three caves."

Catboy smiled and then shook his head. "What are you suggesting?"

Gekko smiled and rolled his eyes. "I don't know..." There was a moment of silence. "Do you still have feelings for him?"

Catboy let out a purr of amusement. "How many times will I have to explain myself to you and Amaya? I don't have feelings for him!"

"You two dated." Gekko pointed out.

"Yeah, but we didn't have feelings for each other," Catboy put his hand under his chin. "At least, not romantic feelings."

Gekko laughed and nodded, they kept walking on silence a bit more. He looked ahead to were the Petit Masks were playing together. _They are on their own bubble... maybe this is a perfect time._ He took a deep breath. "Hey, Catboy?" He felt a knot in his throat and his heart was beating fastly. This moment was crucial, at least for him; he could either screw it up or succeed and befriend Catboy correctly again.

Catboy arched an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

Gekko contemplated him for a few moments, noticing the height difference between the two, and something more... he noticed how Catboy seemed changed.  
He walked on his side, his long and thin blue tail trailing behind him gracefully, his steps firm and confident. His head was held high and his ears alert, and his face holds the most determined look Gekko has ever seen. _When did he change so much?_ He thought.

Catboy looked curiously. "Were you going to say something?"

Gekko shook his head. "O-Oh, sorry, yeah. Uh," He held his hands together. "You see, I was thinking about this lately like, a lot." He breathed out nervously. "Especially the day you saved us from Bleeder." He laughed awkwardly. "And Federico helped too, but you get my point. Anyway-" _I suck at this._ "I've been pretty har-"

"Catboy, Gekko, come and look at this!" It was Unità.

Catboy looked at him for a few moments before speeding up to where the kids were. Gekko grunted. When will he have the chance to say _sorry_? _I've been trying for over a week! Stupid world, you can't be serious._

 ** _Nous pouvons, Lézard, et vous devrez souffrir avant de pouvoir atteindre votre objectif._**

Gekko stopped. He looked around, his voice trembled. "C-Catboy, that was you?" He heard different voices around him, but they were faint as the wind and he had trouble to decipher what they were saying. There was something wrong about them.

 ** _L'espoir sera perdu et le Chercheur de la Nuit sera né._**

That definitely wasn't Catboy.

 ** _Le chien, le chien! Elle est prés!_**

 ** _Plus tu seras proche, plus le pire sera, Lézard._**

Gekko stood terrified, that last one seemed really close, and the dark of the cave wasn't helping. He walked fastly ahead, hoping to bump into Catboy soon. He felt a breath on his neck, which smelled like death and everything wrong, and a female voice, soft but malicious, whispered on his ear.

 ** _J'ai essayé de te prévenir, Lézard._**

He yelled in terror and ran ahead, not seeing anything or where he was heading. After a while, he bumped hard into somebody and felt a weight over his body. The weight was fastly removed as someone moved closer to his face, Gekko shivered, fearing that whatever talked to him before has finally caught him. "Gekko, are you okay? I heard you screaming, are you hurt?"

Gekko sighed in relief and felt secure again as soon as he heard Catboy's voice. He noticed that a dim light illuminated everything, just like the path he came from. He felt perturbed. _But the path was all pitch black! I couldn't see anything!_ What had happened back there?

Catboy helped him up and Gekko shook the dust from himself. Catboy had a worried glance. "What happened?"

Gekko looked at him. _I would like to know, too._ "I-I got scared, there was a- uh- spider, on my shoulder." Silence. "I hate spiders." He blurted out.

Catboy didn't seem convinced but didn't question further. He angled his ears towards the wall. "Look, the kids found this." They both headed towards the wall, which wasn't made of dirt, but solid rock. It was a giant wall, the ceiling of the place stretched up above into a pitch black cave, which made it seem as if they were looking straight into the night. On the wall, a huge colored ceramic sculpture was carved into the stone, which showed six humanoid figures and six dead animals on the bottom.

"What is this?" Gekko passes his hand over the sculpture, contemplating it. "Have you seen this last night?"

Catboy looked bewildered. "Not at all, it wasn't here when we checked."

Gekko looked up at the sculpture, something about it wasn't right. On the top was a huge humanoid figure, with completely icy blue eyes, dark ginger skin and black masks over the face which resembled a peak. The mask had white on the borders of were the supposed peak was, and yellow waves over it. Three dots were under the eyes and the contour of the eyes was white.

The entity had their arms, which seemed to be decorated with black and shiny blue feathers on the forearms, extended all over the others. The hands went from dark ginger to yellow and ended in claws, long and pointy ones. Long strikes of white and ice blue emerged from the eyes, creating up a storm which made snow and rainwater fall over the figures and froze the dead animals on the ground.

Under the bird masked entity was another, which had ginger hair and white spots over the skin. Greg took a look a Hope, who was admiring the sculpture by his side, with his eyes wide open and his mouth slightly gawking. He looked back and forth between the child and the sculpture, they did have a small resemblance if it weren't from the grey wings that shot from the back of the figure and the silver mask with a red heart-shaped jewel on the forehead. Not only that, but the humanoid seemed older, _far_ older than the kid.

Catboy walked to his side and bend over a little to take a look at the bottom of the sculpture, alongside Gekko. "Three animal hooded guys?" He asked,  
passing his hand over the thing. "They seem worried too."

And he was right, the three animal hooded guys looked worried, one even had tears streaming down and falling into the blood of the animals. The first hooded guy, the one of the left, had a long yellow and black coat with a hood over the head, a crown over their head that had two huge black diamonds on the side. The one in the middle had a hood covering the eyes but was the one crying, Gekko contemplated how the bottom of the silver cloak they were wearing was tinted red with the animals' blood.

Catboy brushed his arm with his own when he approached Gekko on the side, which sent shivers down his spine. He put his hand over the figure on the right, and this time used his claws to feel the surface of the black ceramic that tinted that black cloak the last one was wearing. "Why such a sculpture could be in such a place like this?" Catboy asked. "Who did it?"

Crash, walking on the other side of Gekko, spoke up. "They left it." He signaled at the side of the black figure. There was another hand that came out of nowhere, and the bottom of a white cloak. "I wonder why."

Gekko, not taking his eyes from the sculpture, voiced the kid. "I wonder why too."

Cotton clung to Gekko's leg. "Can we go back? I don't like it here."

Black Ear was grabbing Catboy's hand. "Me neither," She seemed legitimately scared. Her voice trembled as if she was gonna cry. "I feel in danger, Catboy."

Catboy ears shot up alarmed and he picked up the girl. He glared at Gekko. "Whatever it is, it's making the girls upset. We should leave." Gekko nodded, knowing how the girls felt. The female voice from before still hung at the end of his mind. He picked up Cotton protectively and they headed back to the path they first took, though this time he drew closer to Catboy for safety. He stopped as he noticed that Crash was missing.

"Wait." He ordered, and Catboy spun around confused. When they both looked back, they found Crash still staring at the sculpture on the wall. "Crash. Gekko called, though the kid didn't listen, or seemed. "Crash!" This time the smaller boy shook his head confused and raced to them once he saw they were leaving without him.

"Sorry, I got lost." He apologized and grabbed Gekko's hand.

They exited the place with an uneasy feeling that upset them all.

* * *

Outside the caves was foggy, and Catboy hated the humid feeling it gave him. They were standing outside HQ, waiting for the door to open. Black Ear had slept on the way back and Cotton, who Gekko carried, was slightly on the way to her dreams. Crash was yawning and slightly held to Gekko's hand, almost sleeping on his feet.

They entered HQ and were welcomed by Amaya, who was carrying some blankets to Hope's room. She lighted up when she saw them. "Hey, how was your little trip?" She asked.

Catboy looked at Gekko as if he doubted to tell Amaya about the sculpture. Gekko could understand his worry, that sculpture felt... wrong, and the voices talking to Gekko proved that point. He eyed Catboy and Catboy moved his tail. Both looked at Amaya. "Fine, nothing interesting, except for dust in my lungs." Gekko joked.

"Tiring as well, I can see." She said, and the three of them looked at Cotton and Black Ear, who was snoring softly.

Crash yawned and looked at Gekko with sleepy eyes. "Can I go to bed now?"

Gekko nodded but Catboy talked. "Untransform so you can sleep comfy." Crash nodded and touched the symbol on his chest, letting the orange light swallow him before going back to his own-self. Catboy woke up Black Ear and Cotton and told them the same thing, and after they were done, he took them to bed, leaving Amaya and Greg behind.

Amaya walked over. "So?"

Greg, who didn't take his eyes of Catboy, asked confused. "'So' what?"

Amaya nudged him on the side. "You just didn't want to explore the caves, you wanted to do something else." When Greg didn't answer she whispered. "You can fool the others, and even Catboy, but not me, Greg. What did you have in mind?"

Greg sighed and signaled Amaya to follow him. Walking beside her to the elevator's room, he answered. "I-" Deep breath. "I wanted to apologize, okay?" He grunted. "I'm tired of all of this, y' know?" He looked at the ground and quietly, he said. "I'm tired of myself."

Amaya put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself."

Greg removed it, angry. "Except that I need to be it." He faced her. "A week ago you would've thought the same."

Amaya opened her eyes in surprise, and with an angry tone, added. "To be hard on yourself? No, you got it wrong. I would've _told_ you to stop being a jerk, which is what were you doing."

Greg only walked past her and stepped on an elevator. "Except that you didn't, and if you would've had, I might've come to my senses earlier." The elevator took him up, not giving Amaya enough time to answer.  
He stepped out into Vita's HQ Room, to avoid anyone in the lower level, and a few seconds later, another elevator arrived and Amaya's voice exploded in the room. "I didn't because it wasn't _my_ problem. I had a problem with Connor? Yes, and I fixed it! It wasn't _my_ job to fix _yours_."

Greg faced away, grunting. That's not what he meant at all, but these days? He wasn't even sure where he was standing. He wasn't sure about anything anymore, maybe he was just walking blindly because he didn't care anymore. Why would he, anyway? No matter what he did or what he says, everything went wrong, always.

Amaya's angry tone came from behind him. "You have mixed feelings about your doings? Don't take it out on me, or anybody else, especially not Connor. Nobody here is responsible about anything you do _but you_."

He heard the elevator go down and then silence filled the place, except for a few sobs that he later realized came from him. He sat on the floor, angry at himself and embraced his legs, burying his face between them. He sobbed harshly and kept there.

Hopefully, nobody will search for him.

* * *

 _Greg walked slowly down the streets of Tarabiscoville, it was late at night it seemed, and a calm breeze ruffled slightly his blond messy hair. He felt relaxed and for some reason, happy. Crossing the street ahead, Greg found himself in the gate of the park, standing right in front of HQ. He tilted his head, pondering._

 _Why did he come here for?_

 _He looked around. It didn't seem as if there were a problem with any of the nighttime villains... He looked ahead. HQ didn't seem to be operating, so there was no business inside. Then, why was he there for? Giggles behind echoing in the streets startled him and he spun around to see who were the owners of the voices. His mouth hangs slightly open. No way..._

 _Just crossing the streets in a playful manner was him -his 6-year-old self- bouncing happily and running past him, without even noticing him. His younger self looked back at him and playfully mocked. "See? You can't win without your powers, slowpoke!"_

 _Greg raised an eyebrow at him. What did he mean? Then, another voice replied. "You took a shortcut, you cheated!"_

 _His younger self laughed heartedly and ran away, he yelled back. "You didn't say we couldn't!" Then Greg understood where he was, or when he was._

 _He spun around and instantly the figure of Catboy -6-year-old Catboy- ran past him with a spark of mischief in his blue ocean eyes. "This isn't over!" Catboy replied. He watched the two of them ran up to HQ and his younger self touched the wood of it then leaped in a victory. Catboy had to lean down and catch his breath then he high-fived Gekko. "Guess you won, well done!"_

 _His younger self smiled proudly then mocked. "I beat the mighty Catboy."_

 _"You'll see next time, Lizard Legs," Catboy replied playfully. "Next time, you won't stand a chance."_

 _"Or I might," Gekko replied. He walked over to the side. "Let's go inside and play some video games." Catboy nodded and followed Gekko inside happily._  
 _Outside, everything was quiet again. Greg kept looking at HQ expectantly, but nothing happened for a while so he decided to head into the trees. Once far away from HQ, Greg sat over a log and played with a small lizard he found._

 _The grim of the place was replaced by a lime green light, a young male voice talked. "Guess you saw that."_

 _Greg spun around at the familiar voice. "Yeah, I did..." He smiled with a warm feeling on his chest. "Those were the good times, Green Fang."_

 _The lizard floated around Greg and embraced his shoulders warmly. "These could be the good times too," He laid his head between his paws. "If you would let them be."_

 _"I'm trying to let them be, it's not easy," Greg answered. He sat on the grass and laid his head on the wood. "Haven't you been present this last week?"_

 _Green Fang sat on the log just beside Greg's head. "Not really," He said calmly. "But I've been sensing stuff." He rested his chin on Greg's head. "You aren't trying your fullest to have alone time with Connor..." Quiet. "To say sorry... Why?"_

 _Greg closed his eyes. "I want to, but there's something holding me back, and I don't know if it is the feeling of betrayal, the pain, or..." Greg sighed._  
 _"Or if it is something completely different."_

 _Greg's eyelid became paler and he guessed Green Fang was floating above him. He opened his eyes and saw the crested lizard watching him with a curious look. "What else do you think it could be?"_

 _Greg knew it, but didn't want to admit it, he closed his eyes again. "I don't know." He lied._

 _Green Fang lowered down and sat on his belly. "Could be the feelings towards him?"_

 _Greg shot his eyes open and sat, Green Fang jumped out in surprise. "Feelings?"_

 _Green Fang tilted his head. "The hurt ones, didn't you said he hurt you badly?"_

 _Greg felt stupid and his cheeks getting warm. "O-Oh, y-yeah..."_

 _Green Fang floated there, watching Greg carefully, with a suspicious voice, he asked. "What else do you think I was talking about?" Greg glared at him stupidly, and when he opened his mouth to respond, Green Fang realized something. "Do you have feelings for Lightning Fur's cub?"_

 _Greg struggled to answer. "No! I don't- I, uh- I'm not into boys, Green Fang. I thought you knew."_

 _Green Fang glared at him with a spark of curiosity on his green eyes but didn't question further, he smiled and nodded. "Yeah, sorry. I might have mistaken your feelings with the feelings of another of my children."_

 _Greg tilted his head in confusion. "Do you have other children?"_

 _Green Fang laughed. "Of course I do, Greg. But I'm your Totem Animal at birth, I only serve as a partial one for the others. Just like Black Thrift is for you."_

 _"Oh..." Was all Greg managed to say. The whole place started trembling and Greg looked at Green Fang. "I'll see you in my dreams."_

 _"Happy hunting, Greg." Green Fang said, but before everything went dark, he managed to say. "Don't let your fears overcome you, Greg. Good luck."_

Greg opened his eyes and sat up and rubbed his eyes tiredly, outside seemed darker than before, but when Greg checked the time, he realized it was only 5 PM. His hand ached a little, because of the injury of last night and because he slept on it. He sighed. Green Fang's words were still hanging on his mind and he put his hand on his chest, feeling his heart beat a little faster with an anxious and strange feeling.

He shook his head and laid down once more, he just wanted to rest a little. After all the issue four hours ago, he used Vita's bed to sleep and clear his mind; he really needed Green Fang, and he was glad the crested lizard was not only his Totem Animal but his friend.

 _I'll try my best,_ He inhaled and let out a long sigh. _But I don't feel it will be easy..._

* * *

Unità sat on the ground, using one of her fingers to roll a can of food through the floor while the other stood under her chin. Hope and Vita sat near her, doing no much better than her. She watched Hope use a highlighter to draw stuff on paper, but with vague traces, and Vita inspected a kite with a bored expression.

She hated being unable to do anything. Outside was foggy and nothing could be seen, and that annoyed her to the bones, she needed to do something, _she needed to move._ The older kids were sleeping peacefully on the beds, the purple haired boy whose name she couldn't remember was the nearest, and he snored loudly which made her giggle.

She watched back and forth between the highlighter that Hope was using and the older boy, and a malicious grin formed in her face. In the last few days, she learned that the purple haired boy was a _heavy_ sleeper, and now that everybody was sleeping, she felt as if she could do anything.

She snatched Hope's highlighter and he protested before casting a worried glance when she approached the older boy. "Connor said we shouldn't do that, you know how mad he got last time..."

Unità spun around to face him. "Relax, little brother," Hope watched annoyedly. "He's sleeping, besides, inside is _so_ boring. I need to do something." She looked at the other boy sleeping. "And he got mad at me at training, he deserves it."

Hope tapped his index fingers together. "Won't he wake up?" Unità grabbed the papers Hope was using and slammed them onto the boy's face, and Hope watched dismayed, waiting for the worst to happen. When nothing happened, he arched an eyebrow. "Why won't he wake up?"

Unità shrugged. "I don't know, he just likes to sleep, and I-" She traced the marker across his pale face. "-like to draw." She traced the highlighter on his cheeks and nose, creating whiskers and a cat nose just like they did with Connor. After a few minutes and already having completed his face, she decided that she got bored and sat on the edge of the bed, her hands under her chin. "What else can we do?"

Vita let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know! There's nothing to do, and we can't go outside."

Unità opened her eyes and smiled. "Who says we can't?"

Hope and Vita exchanged a glance. "Connor."

Unità looked at them annoyedly. "He's sleeping!" She walked toward her friends. "Let's go outside for a bit! It'll be quick, like a blink!" She kneeled in front of them. "Please! I'm bored." She pouted and made puppy eyes.

Hope and Vita doubted for a moment then looked at their feet. Vita answered. "Okay, I'll go with you."

Hope looked at her in disbelief. "We'll get in trouble afterward!"

Unità looked at him. "But it'll be worth it! Do you rather stay here and do nothing or go outside and have fun?"

Hope looked back and forth between them, and sighed. "Alright."

Unità gleamed and lead the way, carefully not to wake up Federico and Connor, who were sleeping together in Hope's bed in the room. _This is gonna be so much fun._

Vita walked closely to Hope, which was clinging to her arm the whole way. Outside was foggy, foggier than they all expected, but they were walking through the forest to see if they could find a spot where it wasn't so foggy and play there.

"We should be careful, the hole is still on the ground and we could fall." Hope called to Unità. Vita noticed he breathed heavily and wondered why so many things scared her brother so easily. She smiled and held his hand tighter.

"It's alright, Hope. Connor marked those trees and put vines around it, remember? We'll notice if we are near it." Hope looked at her with his orange eyes and nodded, shaking a little bit.

Vita looked at Unità. "Maybe we could go to the caves?" She asked uncertainly, though there was enough room inside the caves for them to play, especially in the Crystal Cave.

Unità looked uncertain. "I don't know... I don't like the caves."

Hope now took a tall posture that took Vita by surprise. "I don't see anything wrong with them, I think it's a good idea." She looked at him and found a spark in his eyes that unsettled her, she didn't know which kind, but she knew that she didn't like it. She watched Unità flinch as Hope glared at her; she wasn't the only one to notice the strange behavior.

"Let's... let's just keep going." Unità kept walking ahead and Vita followed once Hope let go of her arm. They walked silently a few long minutes until they heard footsteps running away from them. Unità looked at her confused and scared and then alarmed. "Where's Hope?"

Vita spun around only to find that her brother was nowhere to be seen. They exchanged a glance and walked back to the path they followed, yelling his name and getting no answer. Vita heard the rushing water near and stopped Unità before she could go any further. "We are lost!" She exclaimed frantically.

Unità looked at her. "No, we are not! We were following our steps, so that means-"

Vita understood what her sister meant. "Hope went into the caves! What's gotten into him?" They both knew that there was another entrance to the caves near the river and that they not long ago walked past them.

"I don't know, but we gotta find him before he gets into trouble." Unità lead the way into the caves and Vita followed closely.

"Shouldn't we warn Connor? Or somebody?"

Unità kept walking into the dark of the caves. "There's no time!" Vita sighed and only adventured the dark of the caves along her sister. They didn't find anything, besides the fact that they were lost inside the scary huge caves. They ended up in the Crystal Cave and from there choose the third path on the other side of the wall.

"Hope, where are you?!" Unità yelled, worriedly. Rocks falling ahead startled them and they stopped, Vita standing behind Unità. "Hope?" Unità's voice trembled. "I-Is that you?"

Someone stepped out of the blackness of the caves and faced them with a malicious smile. "Well, well, well... what do we have here?" Both of the girls opened her eyes in terror and gasped terrified. _Bleeder!_ "If it isn't the two girls under the Blue Cat's wing."

Unità stood tall, defending Vita. "Where's my brother?!" Bleeder arched an eyebrow and looked at one of his men, who stepped behind him. He tilted his head and the men went away, disappearing on the dark.

"Your brother is in _good hands_ , don't worry." He said menacingly. "As for you," He took a step on them, making them shrug. "-you won't be that lucky." They gasped in terror and Bleeder pointed at them. "Trap them!"

Both of them tried to run away but Vita was forcefully grabbed by the arm and pulled back. Someone tied her up and Unità watched in horror. "Run, get help Unità!" Vita yelled. Unità gulped and ran into the darkness, followed by Bleeder's men.

The man that got her walked over to Bleeder, and he stood over her. "This will teach the kitty cat that you don't mess with Bleeder."

Vita trembled in terror and prayed that Unità made it out of the caves. _Please, let her get to HQ safely!_

* * *

Connor stood on the door, trying to watch anything on the fog ahead. His heart pounded hard and as the time passes he felt even more anxious. He had fallen asleep a few hours ago by accident and when he woke up, the kids were gone and nowhere to be found. He wanted to believe they were alright outside in the woods, but something told him to go and investigate for himself as if something was wrong in many ways.

A hand suddenly on his back made him jump and he looked back to see Amaya with a reassuring glance. "They couldn't have gotten so far, not on this fog."

He stood over her and met her eyes. "But something's _wrong_ , I can just feel it." He walked past her and head to the upper room, where the others were using the picture player to locate them in case they headed toward the town. "Have you found them?" He asked with a knot on his throat.

Greg shook his head sadly. "No, sorry," Connor grunted and walked past them, grabbing the Crystal Cat and pushing everyone out of his way. Greg stopped him. "Where are you going?"

"To look for them. I know something's wrong, I won't stay here and do nothing." He headed down again and left HQ, then heard footsteps getting near him. He spun around to find Silver and Riley looking at him.

"We'll help you."

Connor acknowledged them with a nod and kept walking ahead, determined to find the kids. He entered the forest as he tried to shape where everything was, often tripping with roots and small rocks sticking out of the ground. "Where could they be?"

Riley stood beside him. "They don't know the forest fully, so probably they headed to a place they know very well."

Silver looked thoughtful and then opened her eyes in realization. "The training clearing! That's a place they know too well."

Riley nodded. "Good idea, we can start there." Hurrying up, Connor's crystal cat lighted up and illuminated a little bit around them, giving a more clear sight than before, not the best, but it was something. Once they arrived at the Training Clearing, there was no one to be found, and Connor sighed in exasperation.

"They are not here! Where could-" They heard commotion ahead and Connor didn't think twice before launching himself ahead as fast as he could. He heard yells of terror and complaints... then someone calling out for him. In horror, he recognized Unità's voice. "I'm coming, Unità!"

The fog was dispersing now and he watched as one of Bleeder's men grabbed her tightly and tried to take her away. His blood burnt his body as anger took control of him and he ran to them. He launched himself into the man's side, hitting hardly his ribs and rolling later on the ground. The little girl slammed hard into the ground and watched shocked as he punched the man with fury on the face several times. " ** _WHERE ARE THE OTHERS?!_** "

The man only coughed blood and laughed, and that set Connor's anger on edge. He kept hitting him hard on the face until someone pulled him back. He watched back with crazy eyes at the person. "What?!"

"You don't want to do that, not in front of her." It was Riley's voice, and Connor realized for a second what he did. He watched the man on the floor with a very bruised face and contemplated his own hands, which were full of the man's blood. He watched Unità, who had tears streaming down her face and hugged onto Silver as if her life depended on it.

He stood up and watched the man try to stand up. With a low, menacing voice, he stepped on the man's chest. " _Where_ are the others?"

"I'll never tell you." The man said. Connor gritted his teeth and kicked the side of the man's head, leaving him unconscious. He looked at Riley. "Carry him back to HQ, I'm not finished with him yet." Riley nodded and tossed the man over his back.

Connor hurried to Unità's side. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

The little girl sobbing shook her head. "No, but they took Vita and Hope!" She cried. He caressed with his hand her hair, staining the blonde color with a crimson one.

"They?" Silver asked bewildered. "Who else did you ran into?"

"Bleeder!" Unità sobbed. Connor's blood burnt with anger and he signaled Silver to follow him. He wasn't done with the man who attacked Unità, and now that he knew that Bleeder was definitely involved, he had some questions to ask.

 _Some very rough questions._

* * *

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to leave a review, they pretty helpful and help me keep going! Have a nice day.


	10. Chapter 9: The Fall

**_WARNING: Torture, violence, gore, and death._**

* * *

 _Chapter 9: The Fall._

7 PM in the night...

Vita shivered in the cold of the caves. Inside her cell, everything was wet and cold, even though Spring was around... actually, Spring hasn't been around enough, the rain has won this last week and the cold wind overrun the days' and night's warm. She shivered. _Where's Connor?_ If only Connor was there, he wouldn't let them be this mean to her. She missed him, and wished dearly he could be there right now, these men were so evil to her, not even telling her where Hope was.

 _Hope._

She frowns and embraced her legs as she sat against the wall. If it wasn't for Hope's dumb and weird obsession with the caves, none of this would've happened, she wouldn't be sitting here in the cold and shivering like a baby. She didn't want to see him right now, everything was his fault... Vita opened her eyes guiltily; she agreed as well as the others to explore outside without any of the older kids' watching over them, it wasn't only Hope's fault, all of them did something to get to this point. She sighed. _If only I stayed inside..._

She heard footsteps outside of her cell and looked through the bars, expecting Connor to come through the entrance to her prison, but her hopes were shattered as she saw Bleeder's men come through instead. One of them -a sleek man with grey hair and a horrible scar across the lips- carried something, or more like someone, over his shoulder. Vita gasped. _Hope!_

He seemed lifeless just hanging from the man's shoulder, and Vita shivered, hoping nothing _too_ bad happened to her brother. He opened her cell and the other two men grabbed her tightly, keeping her in place. The sleek man tossed Hope across the cell and into the rocky floor of the cave, he landed near the wall Vita was sitting against before.

The men tossed her into the floor again and closed the cell hastily once more. She looked at them with a pout in her face and stuck her tongue out once they turned around, hating them for whatever they did to her brother and for treating both of them so badly.

Talking about her brother, Hope laid on the floor lifelessly, and Vita sat beside him touching his ribs and then moving her hand into his chest, fearing that she won't feel his chest move up and down again. She let out a sigh of relief once they moved and he let out a small breath escape his lips, putting her brother's head on her legs so once he woke up, he wouldn't feel any ache. Drops of water falling from the roof wet her red hair and her face, and some of them fell in Hope's face, and she shook her hair to shook them off and used her hand to wipe away the ones in Hope's cheeks.

Voices echoing on the walls of the caves caught her attention. She looked at Hope, and then back at the bars of the cell, then back at him. She gently put his head down on the rocky ground then moved next to the bars to hear the conversation between whoever the voices belonged to.

 ** _"Are you sure about Bleeder's plan? That Blue Cat has beat him before, I don't see what's gonna be different this time."_**

 _They are talking about Connor!_

 ** _"Yes, because this time we have something the Blue Cat treasures a lot: the two little peasants we caught."_**

Vita growled. _Peasants yourselves!_

 ** _"Doesn't that make him more dangerous? You know what he did to Bleeder's face last time we caught people he cared about..."_**

 ** _"He might've made Bleeder a One Eye, but we have the two little pests locked down. He knows if he makes one wrong move, goodbye pests."_**

Vita gulped and walked over to Hope once again, feeling sick and with a pale face. _Please, Connor, hurry up._ She looked at her brother laying on the ground. _But be careful..._

* * *

Connor stood still on the center of the basement in the Headquarters. Alongside him were Riley and Silver, waiting for him, and tied to a chair was the man who tried to capture Unità a few hours ago. Through the panel on the wall, he could see the outskirts of the city, which was dark as rain pelted calmly over it. He watched the man unconscious in front of him with narrowed eyes.

Everything was quiet as he did, so Riley, feeling a little bit unsettled, spoke up. "Are we gonna do anything or...?"

Connor, giving his back to him, replied curtly. "Quiet." He stood there, watching the man unconscious, deep down wanting to harm him back for hurting Unità.

The man shifted awake, lost and confused as to where he was. He looked around to try to make out where he was, but after he recovered fully, he shook his head and tried to jump at Connor, who only cast a death glare at him. "Whatever you want from me, I'm not giving it to you." The sleek man spat.

Connor stood there, in deadly silence, looking at the man with fierce anger burning in his blue eyes. After a few seconds, he walked around the man, observing him as much as he would like a wild cat stalking his prey. He stopped behind him, and the man twisted his neck to try and look at him, with no success. "So," Connor started. "What's your name?" He inquired.

The man gave no answer, so Riley used his strength to grasp his jaw tightly, and Riley looking at him straight into his eyes menacingly, make the man show in his eyes surprise a little bit of fear; he didn't think someone of Riley's size could be that strong. "He asked you something, answer." Riley obligated. He let go of the man's jaw and stood back in his place. Connor nodded at him and waited for an answer.

Hesitatingly, but with a grim expression, he answered. "Oculus, the One-Eye Hawk."

Connor snorted. "Oculus... guess your name makes justice for you." He walked in front of the man again, with slow steps that echoed in the place. Oculus followed Connor with his gaze, which sparked with burning anger and a desire to kill Connor right on the spot. Connor finally stopped and looked at him from his peripheral vision. "So tell me, Oculus, what's your purpose on life? Besides of course, being Bleeder's bitch."

"That's none of your concern, kid." Oculus growled.

"Except that it is," Connor said, his calm and threatening tone drastically changing to a furious one. "You make it my concern when you decided to play Bleeder's bitch and mess with my family." He kicked the chair Oculus was sitting on and the man fell backward, hitting his head harsh against the cold rocky ground of the basement. The fall and the man's head hitting the ground echoed around and Connor stood over him, the lights contrasted him, so shadows covered his face and the blue of his eyes shone like fire. "Now tell me, where are the others?" He kneeled down beside the man's head. "Where's Bleeder?" He demanded with a deadly tone.

"I already told you, I'm not telling you." Oculus simply dismissed the question. He grimaced at Connor with a disgusted expression and Connor wanted to kill him right there.

"I don't have time for this, we can do it the easy way," Connor passed his finger through Oculus left eye, which was the one that was healthy as a whole, but poked it. "Or the hard way, you decide."

Oculus gritted his teeth as he clenched his eye closed. "Either way, I'm not telling you." With a naughty smile on his face, which trespassed Connor's line, he said. "You can do whatever you want to me, and yet I won't tell you nothing."

Connor stood up and not taking his eyes from him, he signaled Riley and Silver. "Alright. Riley," He turned to look at the Asian boy, and he waited for his command. "Fetch the tools. Silver," He nodded at her and she waited for him to tell her what to do. "Tie him harder." She nodded and walked behind Oculus, tieing the ropes around him twice as hard as before, making it difficult for Oculus to breath right.

Once Riley brought the 'tools', Connor looked at Oculus. "Just so you know, this is techno no one has ever created before." The two metal sticks Connor had in hand lighted up and made an electric sound. With a grim expression, which showed hatred, Connor warned. "I would prepare if I were you, this won't be easy."

Oculus looked terrified at him before Connor pushed the sticks onto his sides.

* * *

Hope shifted awake, opening his eyes slowly in the semi-dark of the place... wherever the place was. He was really cold, and his wet clothes didn't help at all, but that sensation was overridden by the feeling of confusion. Where was he? He didn't remember anything about what happened, especially not how he got so cold and wet in the first place. The last thing he remembered was walking beside Vita and Unità on the forest.

He sat up slowly, only to find himself in a rocky cell with old oxidated bars enclosing him there, not letting him go. He looked around and lay his gaze on Vita, who was sleeping on the ground not so far from the wall. Why were they inside a cell? He crawled over to her and sat by her side, shaking her awake. She shifted with a frown and a protest, but as soon as she turned around, she met his gaze and instantly sat up. "You're awake! Are you okay?" She asked, worriedly.

"I... think so?" He was still confused about everything; what happened? "Where are we?"

"In the caves..." She looked down at her hands, frowning. "Captured."

He felt as if he had a heavy rock on his belly. "W-what? By who? H-how did we ended up down here?"

She looked puzzled. "You don't remember?" He shook his head and she looked more confused than before. "Stop playing games, this is not funny."

He got annoyed. "Why would I play a game in this situation?!" He said, showing her around to prove his point. "I really don't remember anything!" Was this all his fault? What has he done?

Vita shifted uncomfortably on her place. "You... ran away from us while we were walking on the forest, and we thought you came into the caves, so we came down to look for you but instead," She sighed. "Bleeder captured us, or well, at least me."

"What about Unità?" Hope asked, waiting for her not to answer his fears.

"I don't know, she ran away..." Vita said, and everything fell quiet. "Hopefully she reached Connor and the others..." The drops of water from the roof fell into the puddles they have created on the ground and echoed around the walls of the caves. Small rocks fell too, but neither Hope nor Vita knew why and neither wanted an answer, these caves were strange enough and they didn't want to do anything with them again.

He didn't know why he had the impulse to ran away, nor did he knew in which moment he ran away, everything after the walk on the forest was only a blurry memory. He concentrated; he remembered the sound of rushing water, the foggy forest, the entrances of the caves and the sound of voices as faint as the wind. He frowned even harder. The sound of rushing water, the foggy forest, the caves, voices. What did they have in common? Where did he head to? And _why_ couldn't he remember anything more than that?

He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate harder, but he opened them scared as a scaring image popped in his mind: an entity, with ginger hair and red eyes that shone in the dark with a silver mask over the eyes and the half of a heart-shaped ruby that matched the crimson eyes. He didn't remember seeing the entity somewhere else, in any shape.

Everything was so weird, and Hope felt scared that whatever was happening with him, it would be worst in the future. _What does this mean? Who was that?_ He looked at his hands. _Was it me?_ He looked at Vita then tried to picture the entity again. _That thing seemed evil, and I'm not evil! I'm a hero, whoever it was, it wasn't me._ He thought of his siblings fondly. _I could never become a villain, I could never harm them that way._

The quiet of the caves was disturbed when bursting into their spot, Bleeder walked over to them. They huddled together, waiting for the man to do something to them. They had seen him before meeting Connor, they -or at least him- remembered the nights in which people would beg this horrible man to stop doing whatever he was doing to them, and especially the days he would steal from the poor. To Hope, that man was evil, and he didn't deserve anything, especially not being alive.

"Stood up." He ordered to both of them, and they stood up, shaking to their bones, and not only from cold. He glared at them amusedly, then with a menacing smile, he grabbed the bars of the cell with his enormous hands. "Tell me, where can I find the Blue Cat?" None of them answered, and that drove him mad. "ANSWER ME!"

"We don't know..." Answered Vita, obviously lying.

"LIES!" He punched the bars, which made debris and pebbles fall from the roof. "We saw him with you, there's no escape for you now..." He walked to the side Vita was standing. "If you tell me where he is, I might go a little bit easy on you. A little bit."

"Dirt face!" Vita yelled at his face, and Hope horrified looked back and forth between her and Bleeder.

Bleeder outrage tore the bars out of place and entered the cell with them, going angrily towards them. Vita and Hope ran to the wall, with no escape, and huddled together against the ground. Bleeder put his arm up to punch them but Hope, with his eyes closed, said. "You can't harm us!"

Bleeder laughed. "Oh really? And why is that?"

Hope felt burning hate towards Bleeder, a kind of hate he never felt before, and watching him with menacing eyes, he answered. "Because if you do, the Blue Cat won't stop looking for you until he has done to you everything you did to us." Bleeder stood there, rage burning in his eyes. "He won't stop until he has _killed_ you."

Bleeder gritted his teeth and slowly put his arm down. "You have the instinct, kid." He smiled naughtily. "The evil instinct." Hope only glared back while he embraced his sister protectively. Bleeder stood over them, his shadow covering both of them, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Lust, Thorned Heart!"

A sleek woman with pale skin and really dark hair and a teenager with dark skin and pale blonde hair walked inside. "Yes, Bleeder?" They said in unison.

"Go into the forest, I want you to find the Blue Cat." Bleeder said, not taking his eyes away from the kids.

Lust, the sleek woman, seemed uncertain. "We didn't find him before, what would change now?" Bleeder turned to look at her and smiled maliciously.

"Them." He looked back at them again with an ugly smile. "He will be looking for them, mark my words. When you cross paths with him, tell him I'm willing to trade them for something of value."

Lust seemed puzzled. "Since when do we trade?"

"Since never." Bleeder said, a crazy look on his face.

Lust seemed puzzled, but Thorned Heart shivered in excitement beside her. "He's gonna lurk him into a trap and kill him!" The tone the teenager was using scared Hope deeply. Thorned Heart looked with joy and admiration at Bleeder, a twisted smile on his face. "It's been a long time since I presence a death!" A dreamy look on his face. "The screams of pain, the blood streaming out of their necks, the lifeless bodies lying on the ground..."

Lust smiled and looked lustful at Bleeder. "Now that sounds more like our Bleeder."

Bleeder walked out of the cell and put in place the bars he dislocated. He smiled proudly at his subordinates. "Then what are you waiting for? Go and find him!" Lust and Thorned Heart nodded excitedly and left the caves, leaving Bleeder and the kids alone again. He smiled at them evilly.

"I'll make sure your kitty friend doesn't witness another dawn, before that," He laughed maliciously. "His blood will be streaming down on the grass and he will lay dead before sunrise!"

He exited the place laughing maliciously and Vita and Hope looked alarmed. Hope shivered. If only there was a way to warn Connor. _Please, Connor, don't agree to this!_

* * *

Greg watched as Connor, Riley, and Silver stepped in the room, their clothes stained with small splotches of blood. Riley had it worst, his knuckles were tinted in crimson red and his sweater was the most stained. Silver's hair was tied in a ponytail and the tips of it looked hard and greasy, the dark of the points of her hair seemed to also have a tint of crimson red.

He followed them with his gaze, appalled by their doings. Amaya was currently with Unità in the upper room, and for a few moments he stayed with them, not enduring the screams of pain of the man they captured, but when they ceased, he came down again but with a sickly feeling.

Silver grabbed a pair of clothes from her luggage and used one of the elevators to go up, while Riley used a small bowl with water and a towel to clean himself up. Connor walked over to the Picture Player and tapped a button, which opened the door to the bathroom. Greg watched from outside how he washed the blood from his hands, red water streaming from his forearms and into the handwash. Not being able to keep his mouth shut, he walked to him. Riley followed with his gaze.

Greg stood on the door's frame. "Did you really have to torture him?" Connor didn't even look at him, neither did he answered. Greg gritted his teeth. "We are heroes, not the villains! We don't torture people!"

Connor still didn't look at him, he only washed his hands. "He didn't want to talk, and I was willing to go easy on him, but he asked for it." There was a strange tone in his voice that Gekko was sure he never heard before. Not from Connor or anybody he ever knew, not even the villains.

"You should've pushed further into that, not into-" Greg signaled at the blood streaming down his arms horrified. "N-Not into this!"

Connor grasped the ends of the handwash. "We don't have time, Greg. It was the only way."

"The only way?" Greg asked out of breath. "Torture is the only way for you?"

Connor looked at him outraged. "Yes, when the man standing in front of you has killed dozen of people before, including children, and was willing to harm _them_ as well!" He put his finger in Greg's chest. "I bet on my whole life that if your father was _alive_ and he would be their prisoner, you would've done anything to get him back, _Greg._ "

Greg stood there with his eyes wide open, shock overrode him. He noticed the moment Connor regretted saying that, and Connor shook his head at what he just said. With watery eyes, Greg slowly said. "I don't know what's worst: The thing you just said or the fact that I tried to forgive you." Connor wanted to say something but Greg turned around and left, not giving him an opportunity of apologizing or doing anything of the sorts. Connor touched a nerve, a very delicate one, and Greg was not going to forgive that.

Riley, who had heard the exchange between the two of them, tried to approach him. "Greg, Connor didn't-" Greg pulled his arm back hastily, not letting the other touch him, he was as guilty as Connor. Riley seemed surprised at his sudden change of mind, and a voice behind him made him turn around.

"What you did is no better." It was Federico. "You tortured somebody, and there's no coming back from that now." He walked to Greg's side, grabbing him by the shoulder, he clearly understood what Greg was feeling about all of this, even though in the past they didn't share the same opinion in a lot of things. Greg stood in place, out of words. "Do you think we'll ever saw any of you the same way again?"

Riley kept quiet, shocked. He tried to make a step on them. "I-"

Federico made a step back with Greg. "There's no excuse for the blood on your hands, Riley, nor Connor's or Silver's. You did it, but at what cost? You got no answer." He nudged Greg out of the room, far away from the ones Greg thought as guilty, and into the elevators.

On the way down, Greg's tears finally started to stream down and the ache of everything that has happened so far felt heavy on his chest, especially on his heart. Everything seemed _fine_ so far, why had something ruined it? Why had _Connor_ ruined it? When they stepped into the room, Federico approached him. Quietly, Greg asked. "Why did I ever thought he changed? Why did I ever thought about forgiving him?"

"Because you know what you did was wrong," Federico said, but he looked down at the floor, where his feet fidgeted. "But what they did here? It was even worst." He walked out of the room and headed to the main door, the one that leads outside. Greg followed, he needed some air, none of this met with his ideal or his believing, nor his sense of doing the right thing. But lately, has something met his expectations?

Both stepped out into the clearing, where the grass extender up to their ankles. It wasn't foggy anymore, but rain pelted slightly and created a dark and humid ambient around. The forest looked wet, and the pines shook slightly with the wind that the rain carried. Now Greg would usually hate getting his clothes wet due to rain, but now? It felt relaxing and as if it washed away everything he was feeling now or at least some part of it. He was calming down when he felt Federico tense beside him and he instantly prepared for whatever got Federico tense.

He looked ahead, where two persons stepped out of the forest and headed towards them. When they approached enough, Greg realized it was two of Bleeder's followers. The sleek woman seemed to notice his uneasiness and put her arms in the air. "The name's Lust and this is Thorned Heart," She signaled at her companion. "We are not here to harm you, we come with a message from Bleeder."

Greg stood in a fighting position, Federico by his side. "And how do I know you are not gonna lie about it?"

"Because we came alone, you would've noticed anyone by now if we didn't." Lust answered. Greg arched an eyebrow but stood the same as before, he wasn't going to put his guard down, Bleeder and his followers were full of surprises. When Lust realized he was waiting for her, she proceeded. "Bleeder wants a trade."

Federico spoke up now, suspicious. "A trade? What kind of trade?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

"We want something that can satisfy us, and we give the two little peasants back." Thorned Heart answered with a satisfied smile on his face.

Federico growled. "Their names are Vita and Hope."

Thorned Heart snorted. "Whatever, they are no use to us, that's why the trade." He said. "Like my companion here said, you give us something that can satisfy us, and we give the peasants back. Easy."

Greg wanted to punch the smug expression out of his face. "How, and when?" He demanded carefully.

"Tonight, 11 PM, at the gorge at the end of the Finch Pines forest." Lust said. "We'll be waiting." They turned around, but before they went out of sight, Lust turned around with a menacing spark on her eyes. "But don't think there won't be consequences if you don't, or if you plan something."

Thorned Heart smiled smugly. "Yeah, we know everything. Don't try anything stupid."

When they finally left, both Greg and Federico headed inside to tell the others about the trade.

* * *

After getting rid of Oculus, Connor stood in the middle of the main room alongside Riley and Amaya, listening carefully to what Greg and Federico were saying. Curtly, he asked. "How do we know they aren't lurking us into a trap?"

Federico was the one to answer. "They seemed pretty convinced about this 'trade'."

Riley answered this time, coldly. "They are killers, they aren't and don't get convinced with anything. Whatever this 'trade' is, is not something we can trust on." Amaya and Silver nodded in agreement and Connor only kept his gaze on Greg, empty.

"But if the trade is true, what are we gonna give them that can satisfy them enough?" Greg inquired with a raspy voice. He cleared his throat and when he noticed Connor looking at him, he looked away; Connor didn't blame him for that this time.

He sighed and thought, what would be worth enough for them to give back both Vita and Hope? He analyzed the room. Maybe there was something in HQ that could worth a thousand euros, or more, something like that should satisfy them. He gazed from artifact to artifact, but nothing convinced Connor enough, that's it until his eyes laid on his luggage, just where a small and blue shining object was placed.

Without taking his eyes from it, he answered. "I know something we can give them in exchange." The others looked expectantly at him as he made his way into his luggage and took out from it a small blue and shaped crystal. The others stood in shock.

"You can't give him that!" Amaya opposed.

"Imagine if that fell on his hands, it could be deadly!" Silver added.

"There's no way we are trading that for the kids," Greg said angrily.

"You are not trading anything," Connor said as he looked at them. "I am." The object he was trading was the Crystal Cat that allowed him to transform without his pajamas, it did hold such a strong power, and the others were right about it not being the best option, but Connor wouldn't just sit around and wait for the kids to be killed. "You'll stay behind while I go and trade this."

Amaya hated, even more, that idea. "Heck no, you're not going alone." She crossed her arms. "As much as I hate this idea, I hate the idea of you facing them alone even more."

Greg stepped out of the circle. "If you are going, I'm going too." He looked at Connor but gritted his teeth, anger clearly in his green eyes. "I'm hating your guts right now, but I don't want you dead." He spat.

"As you wish," Was all Connor said. He turned around to face Riley, Federico, and Silver. "They know where HQ is located, stay behind in case it's a trap to break into here." They nodded hesitantly as if they didn't know if they should follow his command or not. When he looked at them with narrowed eyes, nervously they nodded their agreement and Connor walked to Federico.

He looked at him. "He said 11 PM at the gorge, right?" Federico nodded. He looked at the Crystal Cat hanging from his neck and thought of Unità, who was in the upper room. "Then 11 PM it is." He was determined to get the kids back and together, none was getting hurt, or dying, tonight. He won't let that happen.

 _"This ends tonight."_

* * *

10:30 PM in the night...

Catboy walked through the rain forest alongside Owlette and Gekko, who didn't even say a word. He didn't either, he wasn't in the mood to think about anything beyond the kid's safety and the trade. The Crystal Cat was hanging from his neck and bounced on his chest every time he made a step on the muddy ground, which made his feet slippery and annoyed him to a great end.

Everything was going just fine this last week, no problems over the betrayal or anything he did, everyone was getting along, he was getting along with Greg... That drifted his mind to the argument he and Greg had a few hours ago... Greg had said that he tried to forgive him this past week, but now he knew he didn't think of doing it again. Had he broken their friendship forever?

He knew he had touched a nerve when he mentioned Greg's father, Daniel, who sadly passed away in a car accident a few years ago. He remembered how bad it broke Greg when it happened... so bad, that Greg had become a villain named Drakko who only wanted to destroy anything on his way to the throne. Saying what he said earlier had broken something bad as well, he saw it in Greg's green eyes... something broke in there, something was completely gone, and Catboy feared it was their friendship.

He looked at the trees, and his face was welcomed by the drops of rain that the sky cried. Of course, it was their friendship, what else could it be? He used Greg's dead father to excuse a horrible act he committed... a horrible act he will regret for the rest of his life. Greg now hated his guts, and he will ever do as far as he is concerned, nothing he'll say now will ever fix what he broke in there, and Catboy just wanted to drop into the floor and wail like a defenseless kitten to his mother.

No one will ever understand that everything he did was for the good of everybody else, and while the act he just committed wasn't his ideal, he did it so he could find the kids safe and sound. He didn't consider it was okay, but he knew he had his reasons for doing so. He knew how Bleeder was, unpredictable and evil, a killer, he had collected information about him with people on the Downtown. If given the chance, he would kill the kids right on the spot and Catboy wanted to avoid that, he wanted them safe, not dead.

He growled. Once he got the kids safe, he would return to Tarabiscoville with them and raise them by himself, either with help or not. He didn't think to have them around him was safer, but it was safer than leaving them here where they risked the possibility of being killed by anything around the corner. He made his decision, and after the trade, he was gonna grab all of their stuff and leave, he didn't want to do anything with this place, not after this, especially, he didn't want the kids to do anything with this place anymore.

In this place, they had faced hunger, cold, sadness, hurt... He was gonna change that. He didn't want them around this place anymore, and he didn't care if their animal totems, or his own, agreed with this, he was gonna do the best for him and them. He decided that it was time to stop doing what everyone else expected him to do, from now on, he was gonna take his own decision if he thought they were the right ones.

Suddenly a hand grabbed him and stopped him, taking him out of his thoughts. He looked back and saw Gekko staring at him expectantly. "What?"

Gekko let go of his hand with an annoyed expression. "I said: _we are here._ "

Catboy looked around and noticed that far ahead he could see that at the border of the gorge Bleeder and some of his followers stood, including the ones Gekko talked them about: Lust and Thorned Heart. Catboy's heart pound hard on his chest as he looked around, something was quite off, he could feel it on his guts. He turned around and faced Gekko and Owlette. "Owlette, come with me. Gekko, stay hidden unless something goes wrong." Both nodded, though Gekko curtly, and they split up.

Catboy took a deep breath, and with Owlette flying above him, he stepped into the clearing between the gorge and the forest. Bleeder and his followers turned to look at him with a curious spark on their eyes, Bleeder with a smug smile that Catboy wanted to rip off his face. Vita and Hope were being held by Lust and Thorned Heart, but their mouths were tied with a gag and their arms held tightly against their torsos with a rope.

They expressions told him something was _very_ wrong and he held his head high, whatever they brought within their hands, he was not letting it happen. He stepped into the center of the clearing with his tail and head held high, a fire sparked from his blue eyes. "I came."

Bleeder looked at his arm as if he had a watch on there and then looked back at him amusedly. "Early, I noticed."

Catboy gritted his teeth. "Let's finish this. Where are the kids?"

Bleeder walked over to him, and Catboy unsheathed his claws, Bleeder stopped and both looked at each other dead in the eyes, or well, Catboy looked deadly into Bleeder's good eye. Bleeder circled him but took a quick glance at Owlette, who was flying near Catboy. "I can see there are more of you."

"And there will be until the day I'm gone." Catboy hissed, Owlette landed and stood by his side, hatred in her eyes as well.

Bleeder stopped and looked at him with an unreadable expression, and then smiled smugly. "Where's your part of the agreement?" He pointed at the kids with his big and dirty hand. "I have my part," He put his face so close to Catboy's, that the cat-themed hero could feel his ugly breath. "Where's yours, kitty?"

Catboy, without taking his eyes out of his, took the Crystal Cat out of his neck and grasped it tight in his hand. "Here."

Bleeder stood up with an amused expression, he laughed. "You're exchanging that for _them_?" He looked at his followers. "Are you witnessing this? He's trading _a toy cat_ for _these two peasants_." He laughed hard and his followers laughed as well.

Catboy stood in the middle with a serious expression and holding himself back from blinding him on the other eye, he closed his eyes and Bleeder stopped laughing once the Crystal Cat started trembling and shinning. Catboy's body was suddenly covered by a neon light, which made it hard for Bleeder and his followers to look. The blue light gave an electric feeling through his body, and a frenzied state to his mind for a moment, witnessing images he couldn't recall and hearing voices he didn't know.

After all that, he stood there as Connor, but the only difference is that he had his hair in a slicked back hairstyle and his face had a black mask over his eyes. Bleeder watched with shocked eyes and his followers' mouth hanging open. Connor grasped the Crystal Cat even tighter and the blue flash came again, transforming him back into Catboy. "Yes, I brought _my_ toy in exchange for the kids." He spat. "Now _give them **back**_."

Bleeder walked over to them, giving Catboy's his back. He looked back with a malicious smile. "As you wish," Bleeder spun around instantly, a Glock 19 on his hand, shining under the moonlight that peered through the clouds. " _Hero_."

Owlette reacted before he did and pushed him out of the way on time as Bleeder shot three times in a row, killing one of his followers instead of Catboy. Catboy let out a screech and battle exploded in the clearing. Owlette flew around, using her Owl Feathers and her Owl Wing Wind to slow down Bleeder's followers from jumping on Catboy as Catboy roared in and made his way to Bleeder.

Catboy's light suit up and he jumped onto Bleeder, but the man got a strong grip on him and for a moment asphyxiated him and Catboy swayed his legs in the air aimlessly. He looked around for something that could help him get free but saw nothing besides the scared faces of the two kids. _They knew what he was gonna do!_

"I told you kitty, you don't mess with Bleeder. And see those peasants here?" Bleeder pointed the gun at them. "I will shoot them and you will watch them die in horrible pain, you will watch how they will call for your name without you reaching them." He prepared the gun and Catboy clawed his forearm in an attempt of getting free.

He tried to look around for something else. When lightning hit, he could see Owlette's shadow fighting against Bleeder's followers, but he could also see a shadow near the kids. He smiled. "N-no," Catboy said, out of breath. "Y-You won't do that." He smiled and when Bleeder understood what he said, he spun around only to find Gekko pushing Thorned Heart and Lust into the Gorge and going after him.

Gekko punched Bleeder hard on his back and sent him flying a few feet away, freeing Catboy, who hit the ground hard and needed a few moments to recover, and as soon as he did, both he and Gekko started untieing the kids. Hope, once the gag was out of his mouth, said. "We tried to warn you, but we didn't know how!" He said, breathlessly.

"I noticed it in your eyes," Catboy said, passing his hand over Hope's hair. "Thanks." He looked at Gekko. "Get them to HQ!"

Gekko looked worried. "What about y-"

"I'll be fine, go!" Gekko hesitated but took the kids with him. He ran towards the forest with both of the kids hanging from his shoulders but he didn't get far when Bleeder shot from the mess in the clearing and into him. Hope fell a few feet away, while Vita slipped into the muddy floor and headed for the gorge. Catboy cast a quick glance at Gekko who understood it was an order for him to take Hope away from Bleeder.

Gekko stood up and as fast as he could, lifted Hope and ran away from the place, reaching out of Bleeder's reach. Bleeder, seeing his lost chance, aimed his gun at Vita, who was near the end of the Gorge, a mad look in his eyes. Catboy saw it and jumped instantly on him, using his claws to get a grip on him. Both rolled in the muddy floor and once Catboy was pinned down on the floor, Bleeder sank a ranger dagger in Catboy's side several times.

Catboy yelled in pain while he did, but he used his Cat Leap power to give a powerful kick and sent Bleeder away as much as he could. He landed near Vita, and putting his hand on his wound, Catboy watched horrified as the man stood over her with the dagger on hand. " _ **NO!**_ " He raced for her, adrenaline running through his body and the pain of the wound gone. " ** _I won't let you!_** "

He landed on the man with a hatred look, and unsheathing his claws once more, which shone as he put his hand up and lightning struck, Catboy sank them in his throat and ripped it open with the most hateful look on his eyes someone has ever seen. Blood streamed from the wound on Bleeder's neck and blood ran out of his mouth. With his last breath, he sank his dagger into Catboy's side to immobilize him again and rolled into the gorge with him. Vita not being able to stand up due to the mud, slipped with them.

Catboy twisted in the air and kicked Bleeder's body out of him, watching it fall into the ominous rushing water at the end of the gorge and being swapped away, logs and water covering his body. He got a hold of a branch that stuck out from the wall of the gorge with his hands and later witnessed how Vita headed for the water's edge as well. Using the last effort, Catboy used his Cat Stripes and aimed them to Vita, catching the girl on time before she fell more into the gorge.

Both hang from the branch, terrified by the river at the end of the gorge. He saw other two men fall into the water, one hitting the water's edge instantly, the other hitting Catboy's branch and breaking his back with a horrible _crack_ , falling dead into the water. The branch, because of the weight of the man who fell and the weights of Vita and Catboy, broke in half, and Catboy noticed that at any given moment both of them were going to meet their end.

Someone else fell into the water, and against the lightning's blinding light, he could see a shape heading towards them. _Owlette!_ Catboy felt weak, blood streamed hard from his side, and with the effort that it took to pull Vita up, is streamed even harder, his blue suit was now almost as red as Owlette's on the side where he was stabbed. Almost giving up, he looked with tired eyes at Owlette then at Vita. _She won't make it on time..._ Catboy thought. He breathed out in pain, and started swinging his body from one side to another, making the stripe Vita was holding on, swing as well. _I'm not letting anything happen to her..._

He closed his eyes and the happiest moments of his life filled the darkness of his eyelids. He saw his mother, his brother, his friends, everyone he knew, but mostly and finally, he saw Greg and Amaya. He smiled. _Everything I did, I did it for them._ He thought of every wrong he ever did and how it harmed them, especially how he harmed Greg. _I'm sorry, I'm so, so, sorry. I never meant for any of that to happen... I just wanted to protect you, all of you. I'm sorry..._ He opened them, and with a last effort, he tossed Vita over to Owlette, who almost didn't catch her but managed to get a firm grip on her. Owlette cried out his name and he smiled, tears streaming down his face.

 _I'm so sorry._

He let go of the branch before it could break and fell. The last thing Catboy ever remembered was the dark water's edge and Owlette's agonizing scream filling his ears.


	11. Chapter 10: Left Behind

A promise is a promise. Have this chapter on the premiere of Season 3.

* * *

 ** _"At the temple there is a poem called "Loss" carved into the stone. It has three words, but the poet has scratched them out. You cannot read loss, only feel it."_**

 ** _― Arthur Golden_**

* * *

Chapter 10: Left behind.

Gekko ran in the forest with Hope in his arms. Catboy had been pretty clear about him getting the little one to safety, that's what mattered to him the most, so trying not to throw Catboy's efforts over the board, he made a run for HQ. Behind him, he could hear others following him, and he was scared that he was gonna get shot at any moment, these men were clearly armed, it wouldn't be a surprise if he got shot again. _Such a place the kids lived in, no wonder they Animal Totems wanted Connor's help._

Rain pelted furiously on him, and every now and then thunder clapped and lightning struck, giving the dark forest a white-ish color. He didn't have Catboy's Super Speed to get Hope faster to safety, and he was sure that Bleeder's followers were getting even more close to him as time passed. Ahead he could see the huge clearing that was in between the huge slope and the Finch Pines forest, and he was relieved that for once something seemed to be going alright; in that clearing was located the kids' HQ, his now temporary destiny.

He jumped a tree trunk, and using the shield of his left arm, he knocked over a pine tree, which Gekko was pretty sure, as he ran away from Bleeder's followers, that some of them got crushed by the falling tree. But that didn't stop the others, he heard something being thrown and as he tried to exit the forest, and long metallic wire -like the ones that people used to catch stray dogs- was tossed on his neck and he was pulled backward.

Hope fell to the ground as Gekko was pulled by Bleeder's followers and watched horrified how Gekko was being slowly killed. Gekko opened an eye and saw Hope in there terrified, he coughed. "R-Run" Coughs. Hope was terrified for a moment, but with a determined look on his face, he ran away and headed to the clearing HQ was located in.

Gekko was being dragged on the muddy forest floor back to where Bleeder and the others were, his back against the grass and his face almost blue. They stopped, but the grasp on his neck was still strong enough to asphyxiate him. He was tossed forcefully ahead of them and Gekko thought it was a good opportunity to escape, but someone coming from the sky and landing in front of him had him shocked.

"Getting rid of me is not that easy, Lizard Brain."

Gekko opened his eyes wide and his mouth hung open. _Thorned Heart!_

A pair of huge hawk wings shot from the teenager's back, and Gekko for the first time noticed the humanoid features the teenager had. He had long and pointy ears, his face had a huge stripe crossing over his eyes, and instead of nails he had long yellow claws and his legs were twisted like a bird's. The left side of his face was covered in blood and he had the angriest look on, and while he gritted his teeth, he could see fangs on his mouth. "I'm a hybrid, Lizard Brain, why do you think Bleeder needs me?" He enclosed Gekko, kicking his tail. "This is a small world, isn't it?" He chuckled. "Verina was right all this time... _'A few heroes will come in your way, say your farewells, Bleeder.'_ Huh, who would say?"

Gekko coughed, and he was pretty sure he also coughed blood as well. The wire around his neck was getting pretty tight and he felt it carving into his skin. He tried to use his Gekko Muscles, but Thorned Heart watched with a smile how he failed miserably. Why didn't this wire break?

Thorned Heart giggled. "Verina knows all your cards, she's more alike with you than she is with anybody. Somehow," He stepped on Gekko's chest. "She knew all of this would happen." He looked down at him maliciously, his teeth bared. "I should give you credits, you kinda surprised me back in the gorge,  
we didn't expect you there." He got closer to Gekko's face. "Any less, I didn't expect you to have the guts to kill people."

Gekko coughed. "C-Catboy was... r-right." Thorned Heart arched an eyebrow. "W-We s-shouldn't... have mercy on you..."

"So Catboy's the name of the Blue Cat, huh?" He looked thoughtful for a few moments. "Thought it would be something cool, not some stupid replica of Batman." He laughed. "What's up with heroes and animal names these days?" He pulled out a stake from his back and smiled. Gekko saw that the point of the stake had some sort of yellow crystal attached to it, he arched an eyebrow. Thorned Heart noticed his look and put the stake right above Gekko's symbol on the chest. "Verina said this would kill you forever, I don't know what she meant with that, but I enjoy the killing part, so I don't complain."

He put his hand on the air, with the stake on hand, he was ready to stab it in Gekko's chest. He didn't get to do it like a huge wave of sound left everyone deaf. He smiled. Instantly, battle exploded in the forest. Snowfox jumped on Thorned Heart with a mad look on her eyes and used her claws to claw his face. In return, Thorned Heart expanded his wings and putting his arm around her neck, he took her up in the sky.

Foxwolf ran up to him and unleashed the wire from around his neck, tossing it aside. Gekko gasped for air, and Foxwolf put a hand on his shoulder with some pity shown in his eyes. When two of Bleeder's followers ran up to them, Foxwolf moved his gaze away from Gekko and jumped in front of him, his fur fluffing out and his markings glowing. A loud bark-like roar made everything ahead of Foxwolf fly away, trees blended to one side and Bleeder's men laying still on the other side of the clearing.

 ** _"Claw Bomb!"_**

At the sound of Badgerclaw's voice, both Gekko and Foxwolf instantly threw themselves against the muddy floor of the forest. A huge explosion was heard and sharp, long, black claws shot from the bomb Badgerclaw left and hit into everyone and everything that was standing up. All of Bleeder's men fell, some of them with claws across their chest, which made Gekko shiver but at the same time feeling that they had it well served. _Catboy was right, they don't really give you a choice._ He thought of the cat hero. _I guess I wasn't seeing the full picture..._

When no one else came after them, they stood up and looked around. "Where's Snowfox?" Gekko asked. When a few Icicles fell from the sky not so far away from them, they saw her struggling with Thorned Heart in the air. He was gonna go after her, but Badgerclaw stopped him.

"Go and help the others," Looking at the sky and running up to a tree with Foxwolf, he yelled. "We got this!"

Gekko hesitated for a moment but finally did as told, running back to where the other battle was taking place. As he was getting closer, he couldn't hear anything but the rushing water at the end of the gorge and thunder clapping, but what he _did_ manage to hear was an agonizing scream over all of that. He instantly recognized the owner of the voice. He fasted his pace. "Owlette! I'm coming!"

When he burst into the clearing, he saw a few bodies lying here and there, but no Owlette or Catboy in sight. "Owlette! Where are you?!" She burst from the gorge, flying with Vita in her arms. A desperate expression filled her face and when she spotted him, she instantly flew right in front of him. "What's-"

"CATBOY FELL ON THE GORGE, WE NEED TO HELP HIM!" She cried.

His heartbeat stopped for a few seconds, and he stood still in there, but when he saw the terrified spark on Vita's eyes, determined, he looked at Owlette. "Take her to HQ, I'll go after Catboy!" When Owlette didn't move, he nudged her. "NOW!" She flew away with the little girl on her arms and Gekko ran to the border of the gorge and jumped.

During the fall, a pale neon green light surrounded him and embraced his body with a powerful electrical feeling. After it was finished with his body, Gekko hit the water and swam on it. He had fins on his forearms and ankles, which helped him swim nicely on the rushing water, and the crest on his head was sharper and longer. He had some kind of protection around his mouth and the sides of his head had two small fins. His Pondweed power had evolved throughout the years, and now it adapted to him and his suit, allowing him to swim and breath in the worst of waters.

He went underwater, and with his suit lighting up, he looked all around for the familiar body of his best friend. The river was even deeper than Gekko first expected it to be, and was full of sharp, long rocks at the bottom which Gekko tried to avoid as he searched around. He followed the current ahead, guessing that if Catboy fell, then the current must have carried him away instead. Swimming swiftly, he avoided trunks and other junk that was carried by the water, looking around and to the bottom of the river to try and find any signs of Catboy.

His suit lighted up more as he used a rock to stop himself from being carried away by the current, and deep in the bottom between long patches of pondweed, Catboy's blue suit was almost unnoticeable in the depths of the river. The pondweed was around Catboy's neck and legs, and his stripes hardly glowed blue as he floated lifelessly in the water, bubbles coming out of his mouth and his eyes slightly open.

Gekko swam to him and got rid of the pondweed around him, freeing Catboy body from them. He didn't expect the older boy to be _that_ heavy, so when the current of the water hit, he was carried away alongside Catboy. He reached out a hand and got a grip on his leg, stopping the cat-hero from getting away on the current and embraced him in a hug.

Catboy was gonna get from this alive, he was not gonna let his best friend die tonight.

He swam up to the surface and took a deep breath when his Pondweed power switched elements, allowing him to breathe like always. Using one of his arms to try to swim on the current, he tried to push Catboy out into the surface with the other, but his face barely stuck out of the water and he struggled to keep him floating. Gekko didn't count on the rain making the water even harder to swim, so when he finally got a grip on a rock, a huge wave of water swallowed them both and the dirty water ran down on his throat.

He embraced Catboy as if his life depended on him, and it did, so when his head popped out from the water again, he looked around to try and look for something that could get them to safety. He used his Lizard grip to get a hold of a tree trunk passing by, and climbed on it, with Catboy on his back.

Ahead, one side of the gorge opened and Gekko finally saw a shore ahead, but given where the trunk was heading to, Gekko knew they wouldn't reach the ground. Carefully not to mess it up, he lay Catboy on the tree trunk and jumped on the water again, clinging to the trunk with his Super Lizard Grip. He noticed there were rocks ahead, and if he did it correctly, he knew he could use them to stop the tree trunk from being carried away by the current.

He used his Gekko Muscles to move the tree trunk on the water while the pondweed power powered his legs, giving him enough impulse to lead the tree between the rocks and the shore. Successfully, the tree trunk deflected and one extreme hit the rocks, while the other got stuck on the mud and pebbles in the shore, which stopped the tree trunk from moving and creating a bridge they could use to cross along to safety. Gekko climbed the tree trunk and tossed Catboy in his back, carefully, he walked across the trunk and jumped down on the shore.

He slipped, so Catboy fell beside him and his own arm hit a rock that came from the ground. Blood started to stream out of it and tinting the puddle of water underneath him red, but he didn't care as he lay down on the ground, tired. After a few short moments, he rolled over to Catboy and sat up, kneeled down beside him. When he rolled Catboy over,  
he had a long scar across the left side of his face, from which blood peered down and tinted half of his face in crimson red color.

"Catboy?" He asked quietly. Seeing that the hero's chest didn't move, he put his hands over it and started pressing down hard. He repeated it a few times, and while water came from Catboy's mouth, he didn't move, not even flinch. Starting to panic, Gekko leaned down and putting one hand on Catboy's jaw and the other over his nose to block it, he put his mouth on Catboy's and started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

He could feel the taste of blood on him, but he didn't care, at this moment the only thing he could think about was his best friend's life. After a few more efforts without succeeding, Gekko embraced Catboy on his arms and stood up, with the blue-themed hero hanging lifelessly. With a trembling voice,  
Gekko said. "Come on, wake up..." He tried to make Catboy stand up, but his feets touched the ground lifelessly. "Come on, we need to go home..."

On one of these efforts, Gekko stepped on a pebble and both him and Catboy's body fell to the ground. When he regained his posture, he crawled instantly over to him. "Come on! We gotta go back home, together!" He voice was shaky, and he stood over Catboy with small tears forming in the border of his eyes.

Gekko, biting his lip and with a pressure on his chest, shook violently the hero laying on the ground. Catboy's body moved, and his head revealed the 'healthy' side of his face when it turned to the side, but Catboy still didn't wake up. His eyes were slightly open and he stared grimly ahead to nothingness, as his spirit was snatched from his body.

Gekko put an arm over him and with tears streaming down his face, and a smile that wanted to deny everything, he said. "C-Come on, you gotta wake up, you can't be dead..." When Catboy only laid there, Gekko sobbed harshly. " _YOU CAN'T BE DEAD!_ " He agonized. " _YOU **CAN'T**! I REFUSE TO LET YOU GO!_" He punched Catboy's chest and put his head in there. " _You can't... you can't be... dead..._ " The tip of Catboy's tail touched the water and motioned, but overall, Catboy didn't move, he didn't do anything more than lay down there, in the cold and muddy ground.

Gekko's tears streamed down his cheeks harshly and shaking, he let out an agonizing scream that filled the quiet of the place, a scream full of pain and grief that no one would've stood it if they were there. He sobbed and cried out loud, mourning over his best friend's body, pleading for him to come back,  
even though he knew his best friend was never coming back again.

He hugged him and held him on his arms, and putting Catboy's head over his heart, he cried. **_"I'M SORRY, PLEASE, COME BACK!"_** He put his mouth over his forehead and his tears hit Catboy's head instead of the ground. " ** _I'M SO, SO, SORRY! FORGIVE ME! FORGIVE ME, CATBOY!_** " He let out another agonizing scream and hugged his best friend's body even harder.

"Gekko?" From the sky, Owlette landed not so far away from them. She looked at him, trying to process what she was seeing.

He looked at her, his eyes red and watery. With an ache on his heart, he shakily said. "I-I'm sorry, I t-tri-" He didn't get to finish as he broke into more sobs and hugged Catboy's body closer, nuzzling him and desiring he wasn't such a jerk to him in the first place, desiring so badly he could've moved past from all of that and enjoy the moments he had alongside him. Gekko now will never have the opportunity to say sorry to him, he will never have an opportunity to do or say anything to his best friend at all.

Connor was dead, and there was nothing that he could do to change that.

Owlette kneeled beside him, and he slowly put Catboy's body on the ground. He looked at Owlette, whose tears adorned her cheeks and her face bore a shocked expression. She couldn't believe it, neither could he. She reached out to Catboy's face and removed his mask, leaving only Connor's pale face exposed. He removed the black mask he wore over his eyes that served to protect his identity from the cursed Bleeder, and Owlette slowly put a hand over his eyes. "We should- We should close his eyes..." She slowly closed them with a shaky hand, and sobbed afterward.

Gekko hugged her and both of them mourned in silence, grief overtaking their bodies and emotions. After a few long minutes, they separated and she laughed in pain. "Should we- Should we say some words?"

Gekko stared blankly at Connor laying on the ground. Saying some words to him meant letting Connor go, and he wasn't sure he was prepared for that.  
Not yet. "Maybe we should mourn him together, with the others..." His mind drifted to the kids, and the thought of watching them mourning Connor made him feel broken inside. "The kids need a chance to see him one last time..."

Owlette quietly spoke up. "I don't want them to see him," She said. "Not like this..." She looked at him with a sad smile. "They need to remember the real Connor, not this one..." Gekko nodded and both hugged again for a few long minutes before parting away.

They stood up, and between the two of them, they carried Connor's body away from the river and into the dark forest. Gekko's steps were numb, he felt numb, nothing he'll ever do will be the same again. He didn't feel as if his life had any purpose now... what kind of life he could take on without his best friend from life?

Connor was always there, always cheering him up even though he was bleeding inside. Connor made the matter of his father aside to help him with the loss of his father, he was there when Nina left too, when his mother had depression... he ended up accepting his and Luna's relationship even though he disagreed with it, he was there when she broke up with him, and when Nahiri almost killed him. He couldn't think of a single moment in which Connor wasn't there, supporting him as a best friend should.

But for him? He had made Connor feel like crap for the longest time, he had put him down lots of times before, and if it weren't for _that_ , for _his actions_ , things there would've been different. His best friend was now dead, and he will never have the chance to say sorry for everything he did, that felt heavy on his chest as if he had a sharp rock fixed across his chest and that tore its way into his heart.

Connor had died thinking Greg hated him, and Greg will **_never_ **forgive himself for that.

* * *

Both Greg and Amaya, after what seemed ages, finally reached the Headquarters with Connor's body on Gekko's arms. Greg couldn't feel anything but grief, nothing was the same anymore, not with Connor dead.

Rain pelted quietly, the moon hidden behind the clouds as if it knew that something terrible happened. Thunder clapped every now and then, and the wind carried rainwater and leaves it with. Midway to HQ, the door opened and the dark place around them was illuminated. Against the light, there were two figures that rushed to them as soon as they saw them.

Badgerclaw stopped beside Gekko. "What happened?!"

Foxwolf inspected them. "Is he hurt badly?"

Gekko stopped and stared at them numbly, then kept walking with Owlette until they were inside HQ. They met Snowfox's gaze, which shot up with alarm as soon as she saw them. "What happened?!"

They stepped inside Hope's Room and laid Connor on the wooden floor. Neither Owlette or Gekko dared to face the others, they didn't want to see the moment realization of what happened struck them, they didn't want to hold their gazes, they didn't want to see their grief reflected in others. Gekko only lay down on Connor, his head on his chest while quiet tears fell down his cheeks.

The place was deadly quiet, breaths stopped and the time around all of them froze, Gekko noticed it; they realized what happened.

Foxwolf shook his head in denial then burst into tears and crying agonizingly, slipped down onto the floor, hugging his legs as he mourned Connor's death. Badgerclaw stood there, he didn't know how to feel about it, nor did he showed it. He didn't show anything more than shock from the whole situation. Snowfox faced away, trembling and with a hand over her mouth, she sobbed slightly but didn't dare to look back, Gekko couldn't blame her, he couldn't stand seeing Connor's lifeless body either, but it was the last thing he had from him.

Small steps echoed around the place and Gekko spun around only to face the Petit Masks quietly. He could see it in their eyes, especially in Hope's; they knew what was happening. He looked at Owlette and motioned with his head over to where the kids were standing, and she stood up and nudged them outside the room.

Hope resisted, though, he stood there and faced Owlette. "I lost my family before..." Gekko watched quietly the exchange. "I never got to say goodbye to them..." He looked up at Owlette. "Can I at least say goodbye to him?"

Owlette stood there, not knowing what to say. In the end, she nodded and let the boy pass, followed by his sisters. Hope stood beside Connor's body and his shoulders dropped. He sat beside him and hugged him. "You said you weren't gonna leave us..." Unità and Vita each grabbed both of Connor's hands. Hope proceeded. "But yet you are here, leaving us..." He sobbed slightly. "Goodbye, thanks for everything you did for us."

"Thanks." Vita and Unità repeated quietly. They huddled their heads together and closed their eyes, crying softly. Gekko had to give the kids credits for being strong in a situation like this. With pressure on his chest, he thought. _Connor taught them well..._

Finally, Badgerclaw dropped on the floor and cried, both he and Foxwolf hugged each other and mourned together, trying to comfort the other but with no success at all. Snowfox walked over to Owlette and hugged her as well, both of them crying into each others' shoulder. Gekko watched all of them.

He was on his own, he had no one to mourn with, now that Connor was gone... Gekko had no one to rely on. He stood up, he didn't stand to be there another minute, he couldn't stand accepting the idea that Connor was dead and that he was never gonna see his vivid blue eyes, or hear him laugh. He didn't stand the idea he was never gonna see his best friend again, no one was gonna see him ever again, not him, not his family...

Gekko opened his eyes as he stepped out of the room and into one of the elevators.

 _Katrina._

Katrina was never gonna see her son again.

He was gonna go back to Tarabiscoville and tell her that her son, who she taught was in danger, was dead.

Gekko being in the last room of the Headquarters, dropped on the floor as soon as he stepped out from the elevators. No one but he was responsible for his death, so many things could've been avoided if he had forgiven him before. Connor would've never run into Bleeder again if he had forgiven him before, they would've trained the Petit Masks together from the beginning, protect them together from the beginning. All of them would've been safer if it wasn't for him.

 _We told you._

Gekko opened his eyes slowly as he recognized those voices. He stood up, angry. **_"What do you want from me now?!"_** When the voices didn't answer, he bared his teeth. _**"COME ON! TELL ME!"**_

The lights on the room started to flicker, and between the darkness and the light, animal shapes danced around the room, around Greg. Greg didn't fear them anymore, on the contrary, _he hated them_. He wanted to grab every and each of these animals and do unimaginable things to them.

They kept dancing around him, and when they finally stopped, a red star shone on the dark of the place, right above him.

 _We told you. Water was your friend, but not Blue's._

A male voice spoke up, angry. _The storm brought nothing but blood, death! And it's all your fault!_

A female voice spoke up this time, sad. _You changed the current of the waters, Lizard. You made the river run red with your best friend's blood. How did you let it happen?_

All the animals yelled in unison, angry. ** _WE WARNED YOU!_**

Greg opened his eyes in realization when the lights went back to normal. "M-My dream..." He stood there, putting a hand over his chest as he had trouble breathing. His legs felt wobbly, and giving up to the pain, he collapsed on his knees.

"I knew Connor was gonna die from the very beginning..."


	12. Chapter 11: Soul

Sorry for the delay in the chapter, got busy every time I tried to publish it.

Disclaimer: Bella, Finn, and Calypso don't belong to me, they belong to contact_typhoon7, Lukas-Circus, and P0ketiger!

* * *

 _"Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light;_  
 _I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night."_  
 ** _― Sarah Williams, Twilight Hours: A Legacy of Verse_**

* * *

Chapter 11: Soul

Water filled his nose, the liquid ran up to his lungs as fast as a strike of lightning, nothing was clear. All around him, the river's dark waters roared and embraced his body as if they owned him, as if they owned his soul. Why did it felt like that though?

Was it written? Did the stars choose this fate for him?

Nevertheless, he didn't care. He accepted his fate, _this fate_ , he accepted that everything came to an end, that -he- came to an end. He let them take him away, there was nothing he could do to fight against them, to argue against them, the only way out of this was the way they choose for him. Why did this have to end like this?

Was it punishment? Was it salvation from the evils that the world put on his path?

His ears now were filling with water, his mouth open. The water was too strong, so strong, that they even manipulated his body now, they did with him what they wanted. He twisted and hit several hard edges, but he didn't fight nor flinch at them, he did nothing. His fate was well defined, he didn't care about the pain, nor did he feel it. He has felt the greatest of pains, the pain of letting down everybody he loved when he accepted this fate.

 _Too soon._ He thought. While the water roared into his ears and passed through his fingers and legs, he closed his eyes. _This is my fate, they'll have to accept it. I can't change it._

That's right, he couldn't.

But he could fight as he has always done, he could fight for his last breath. Why didn't he though? Maybe he was too tired... yeah, he was. He was really tired, he just wanted to rest, he wanted everything to end, after all, why make the effort? It was too late now, but too early, as long as it concerned him.

At some point, something grabbed him, something didn't want to let him go. Why wouldn't it? His fate was chosen, written amongst the stars... Or was it there something else? He didn't care, not really. He just wanted to rest.

The water pulled him ahead, but whatever was holding onto him didn't let the water take his body away, take his soul with it. Water filled his nose, and eventually, they got to fill completely his lungs. He shook violently but didn't fight. Everything was blurry, he couldn't see, right?

 _Everything is going to be fine, just hang in there._

Who was it? It was a soothing voice, but he couldn't really picture it, nor did he tried to. Why make the efforts? He didn't do anything, he just kept there, floating into the rushing waters, watching everything go away slowly. This was it.

His final moments in this horrible yet wonderful place.

How could something hold such terrible things but be precious like a treasure at the same time? He acknowledged it. This was a wonderful gift that whoever was out there has given him, but as wonderful as it was, it was tricky, and if used wrong, could lead to the worsts of pains. He was ready to let go of this gift, he has held onto its precious ribbons for far too long, it was time to throw it away now. This precious gift, as precious and complicated it was, has run out of use.

 _Follow the stars, I'll meet you there, one last time._

 ** _Darkness._**

* * *

 _All around him leaves creaked. He wasn't sure where he was, but he knew he was in a forest. A soft breeze blew into his face, making him feel rested and relaxed._

 _Where was he?_ _He didn't remember much, and it was difficult to think when the right side of his face tickled._

 _Connor slowly opened his eyes, confused and dizzy. His side didn't hurt as before, in fact, it didn't hurt at all. The last thing Connor remembered was he fighting with Bleeder and getting stabbed a few times, but everything after that was blurry._

 _When he was fully conscious, he realized he was lying on the grassy ground, all around him trees extended up to the starry night sky. Bushes tall as him surrounded him, boulders as big as cars were in between them. Even though there was night, everything around him was foggy and illuminated in a silver light that made the forest rainy and of a greyish blue color._

 _He sat up, rubbing his head. This wasn't the forest in Milennia Town, and where were the others? Why was he in the middle of the forest anyway? Looking around carefully, he stood up and put his hands besides both ends of his mouth. "Greg? Amaya?" He called. When no one answered, only the cracking sound of the trees, he proceeded to call again. "Greg!? Amaya!?"_

 _He got no answer again, and that made him nervous. What if Bleeder caught them? He walked slowly out of the clearing in which he woke up and called for his friends again. "Greg!? Amaya?! Anybody?!"_

 _Where were they? Why was he alone in a strange forest? He shook his head and looked at his feet; nothing seemed to be wrong with him. He put his arms on the air and examine his hands, there were nothing wrong with... them?_

 _Shocked, he contemplated how through his hands he could see the shapes of the trees and the bushes. In fact, across them, he could see everything ahead of him._ _He trembled and with a yell of fear, he fell backward with a loud thump. What was happening?_ _He looked at his legs and across them, he could see the dark grass underneath him._

 _When he blinked, his silhouette became paler and he shimmered of a whiteish color. Under his feet, starry white dust formed each time he made a step like a frost in winter._

 _His hands trembled in fear of the unknown situation. He looked around, waiting for Lightning Fur to come at any given moment from the bushes and tell him it was all a dream, but the blue tabby tom didn't show up at all, in fact, no one showed up to explain to him whatever it was happening._

 _"I was scared the first time I was here too." Someone said. Connor looked around for the source of the voice but found nothing. "Don't be scared, you won't stay here much longer."_

 _The bushed behind him bristled and from them, a tall, buff a half-human half-animal figure stepped into the clearing. He had long pointy ears and a long,_  
 _fluffy tail trailing behind him. A huge mane rounded his neck and descended into his belly. His fur color was grey, his mane and all around his face were white. From the tip of his fingers and up to the elbow, his arms were of a black Charcoal color as well as his paws; it only reached the knees, though._

 _Connor felt somewhat terrified by his presence, and felt a surge of horror when the animal-human figure looked into his eyes with white empty eyes; he wasn't normal, in fact, frost decorated some parts of his fur and his lips were slightly blue._

 _When he did a step, Connor stepped back. "Don't come any closer! Who are you?!"_

 _The figure dipped his head respectfully. "The name's Wolf Fang," He smiled and tilted his head a bit. "You might know me as the PJ Mask that never went back home."_

 _Connor opened his eyes big, in shock, he said. "You are the PJ Mask who fused with his Animal Spirit when he died."_

 _Wolf Fang nodded. "Exactly," Wolf Fang approached him. "I can see that Lightning Fur told you enough about me."_

 _Connor was confused. "What are you doing here in my dreams?"_

 _The frost in Wolf Fang's fur became thicker and he didn't answer. Instead, he walked past him and Connor followed. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" When he caught up with him, he fell in beside him and walked slowly alongside him on the path. "Why are you here?"_

 _Without looking at him, Wolf Fang answered. "I'm not visiting you, I'm not allowed to go out of the Sacred Forest."_

 _Connor stopped light headed. "T-The Sacred F-Forest...?" Wolf Fang stopped ahead of him and watched him expectantly. Connor examined his transparent hands. "B-but that place is where you go if you..." His voice trailed away when he realized what happened. Every memory of what happened came to his mind and he felt sick, his legs felt wobbly and the dizziness came back._

 _Wolf Fang watched with pity, tilting his head a bit, he pinned his ears down slightly. "I'm sorry."_

 _Connor stood speechless, shocked. "So... I di-"_

 _He didn't get to finish when Wolf Fang put his fingers over his mouth. "Don't say it, or else you'll get stuck in here forever, just like me..."_ _Connor nodded slowly and looked ahead with a heavy feeling in his stomach. Wolf Fang put his tail over his shoulders. "Don't look like that,_ _it's not over for you yet."_

 _Connor watched confused and followed Wolf Fang through another path in the Sacred Forest. They walked silently beside each other, but something on the bushes behind Connor caught his ear._

 _ **The Maned Fox is in grave danger!**_

 _He spun around to face the mystical female voice, but Wolf Fang used his hands to stabilize his head straight ahead. "Don't listen to them." He said._

 _"B-But they said-" Connor protested._

 _"The more you ignore them, the better." Wolf Fang said, an upset expression on his face. "Besides, you don't want to carry within you a Red Star, you already suffered enough because of a Black Star."_

 _"But Foxwolf-"_

 _"_ **Hush** _." Wolf Fang snapped. "Once you acknowledge these voices, everything will become true, and you don't want that to happen." Connor sighed and nodded, trying to ignore the scary warning from before, but the fact that Foxwolf might be in danger scared him._

 _"Everything will be alright with him, Connor." Wolf Fang's said, careless._

 _The tone he used upset Connor, and he gritted his teeth. "And what if she's right? What if something happens to Foxwolf?"_

 _"_ **Nothing will happen to him.** _" Wolf Fang snapped, his voice echoing around. The frost from his fur became thicker again as if he was freezing slowly,_  
 _and his white eyes glowed slightly._

 _Connor stood silent, he was out of words. Wolf Fang had this terrifying aura around him that just made Connor shiver. They kept walking in silence when Connor heard the same voice again._

 _ **Be careful! The Badger will unsheath his claws, but not to harm others, to harm himself!**_

 _Connor wanted to wonder if that meant Badgerclaw, but at the same time he didn't want to acknowledge any of this, Wolf Fang said that if he did, everything would become real, and that's the last thing Connor wanted._ _Wolf Fang stared at him with white eyes from his peripheral vision, Connor wondered if he was approving his approach on the matter of if he was thinking about something else._

 _"How long have you been stuck in here?" Connor asked, trying to come with a topic of conversation. It wasn't the best topic, especially not for Wolf Fang,_ _but he was really curious and it was better than just keeping quiet beside the frosting hero._

 _"2.007 years, to be precise." Wolf Fang answered, a sad tone in his voice. "I hadn't seen my family in all those years," He smiled sadly. "You're lucky."_

 _Lucky... What did he mean with lucky? Connor looked at him. "What do you mean?"_

 _"You'll see." Was all the Wolf-Spirit hero said. Everything went silent again and Connor shifted, he couldn't stand the silence between them, it made him feel uncomfortable._

 _ **The scientist will face a frost coming from the Arctic fox!**_

 _"You said you hadn't seen your family in 2000 years, why haven't you?" Connor asked, worry in his voice._

 _Wolf Fang sighed. "As you are aware, I'm fused with my own Totem, Wolf Heart, which makes me some kind of Animal Spirit, but that's the thing," He raised a finger. "I'm just some kind of Spirit, I'm not one, neither Animal or Human, so even if I wanted to, I cannot enter the Forest of the Animal Totems or travel to the City of Stars with my family." He looked down at his feet and sighed, sadly. "I would do anything to reach my family, especially my son... I never had the chance to father him..."_

 _Connor looked at him, slightly surprised. "You have a son?" Wolf Fang looked fairly young, he was probably a young adult in between the 18 and 21, if Connor had to guess. He wasn't that tall either, Wolf Fang was probably a head smaller than him._

 _Wolf Fang chuckled. "Yes, his name was Connor, ironically. Larissa named him after his grandfather." The frost on his fur melted and he looked at Connor with a pang of warmth and love in his eyes, even though they were pure white. "Larissa was my wife."_

 _ **You must not hold a grudge against the Dog, she will save her pups and your kits!**_

 _"You look pretty young to be married," Connor thought about what he said for a second. "No offense."_

 _"None took," Wolf Fang said. "You have to keep in mind that even if I was a PJ Mask, I lived in another time where things were done differently. What seems normal to me might be weird to you, or just not correct and vice-versa."_

 _"Oh, right..." Connor said, scratching his head. After a moment of silence, he asked. "What happened to those who also shared the Wolf Totem? You know,_  
 _after you fused with him."_

 _Wolf Fang took another path and lead Connor into a more grim one, which unsettled him. "I had to quickly look for a replacement before those who had the Wolf Totem as their birth animal and a passing one could lose its healing power."_

 _ **The War will be back!**_

 _ **The Crow didn't mean it!**_

 _Connor stared up into a tree, and though he saw a ghostly shape move that quickly hid inside its leaves as he caught glimpse of it. "Which animal did you choose?"_

 _Wolf Fang smiled. "The Maned Wolf. It has always been a mystical animal to me, I'm pretty sure if it had been a totem before, it would've been mine."_

 _Connor stopped for a second. "Wait, so you technically created Pink Heart?" Pink Heart is Federico's Animal Totem, and he is a Maned Wolf, a pup, but he is one and pretty much good as any other Animal Totem._

 _He nodded. "Yes, that's why he's the youngest of the totems."_

 _Connor looked thoughtfully. "You said something about birth totems. For what I know, birth totems are the ones that the children inherit from their family, but the Maned Wolf totem was a new one, how did it choose its kid?"_

 _Wolf Fang smiled. "Just like the Wolf totem would've done, he chose my kid, became his birth totem after Wolf Heart disappeared, as if-"_

 _"He inherited him from you..." Connor thought for a moment, observing the spirited hero. His skin even though it was covered in frost, it was of a dark tone, much like Federico's. When he talked, his accent seemed a little bit off, and not because of the many years spent in the Sacred Forest. He had a long, pointy face, and the shape of his eyes was too familiar... Connor opened his eyes in surprise. Not only the resemblance was obvious this whole time,_ _what he just explained confirmed Connor's suspicions. "If Pink Heart was your son's birth totem, and currently he's Federico's, then that means that-"_

 _Wolf Fang nodded in acknowledge. "Federico is one of my descendants, yes." He chuckled. "Who do you think told Pink Heart to give him powers when the Broken Masks and Magicster rose up?" Wolf Fang smiled. "You didn't think it was a coincidence, did you?"_

 _Connor chuckled nervously. "Maybe..."_

 _ **The Crow will leave a feather behind, but not for a warning, for a goodbye.**_

 _Wolf Fang stopped in front of a tall rock that shadowed them, and kneeling down, he powerfully jumped up and landed safely on top of the rock. "Your turn." He said, looking down at Connor from the top._

 _Connor looked annoyed. "I don't have my powers to jump that high."_

 _"Yes, you do." Wolf Fang said. "You fell into the river as Catboy, not Connor, you somewhat fused with your totem too."_

 _Connor looked down at his hands, and then up again. Was Wolf Fang right? Anyway, he's been doing this far longer than Connor, so frowning and kneeling down a bit, he jumped as well, being surprised that it worked and that he landed just fine beside Wolf Fang._

 _Wolf Fang kept walking ahead. "Told ya."_

 _Connor caught up with him and realized that the trees were smaller in there, allowing him to see the night sky above him. "Does it ever end?" When Wolf Fang looked confused, Connor clarified. "The night, I mean."_

 _"It depends," He started. "Whoever is stranded in here see it their own way. I died during the night, so I see the night sky, just like you. But there's this other lost totem, Snowy Feather, she sees the clear sky of the day because she died on the daytime."_

 _"Doesn't get tiring to you?"_

 _Wolf Fang shook his head. "Not really. I always enjoyed the night, it's my peaceful time."_

 ** _The cat's kit will unsheath his claws._**

 _Wolf Fang looked ahead the trees, and Connor followed his gaze, catching a glimpse of pale blue light between them. What was there? "We are almost there." Wolf Fang stated, fastening his pace._

 _Connor fell in beside him. "Where are you taking me?"_

 _Wolf Fang, after a long few minutes, answered quietly. "To the City of Stars." Connor looked bewildered and Wolf Fang seemed to notice. "I'm not allowed to tell you why, but it's not for something bad, believe me."_

 _Connor let out a long sigh. He wanted all the secrecy to end, it was eating him on the inside. "Why you, anyway? I thought you couldn't talk to them."_

 _"I said I couldn't go into their territories and talk to the residents of the City of Stars, but I can talk to the totems if they need me. They couldn't cross in here because they might be exposed to danger," Wolf Fang explained._

 _"What kind of danger?"_

 _"None that you should worry about right now." Wolf Fang said dismissively._

 _ **The Crow and the Dog will have to bury a bone.**_

 _ **So will the Cat and the Lizard.**_

 _"Okay..." Connor said, trying to ignore that last voice._

 _"As I was saying," Wolf Fang opened a bush on half and let Connor walk past him. "They were exposed to the danger and couldn't reach you, so they contacted me and told me to lead you there." He stopped just in the border of the forest, right where it ended and a clearing started, leading to huge brick walls in which behind, buildings could be seen. "More like lead you here."_

 _Wolf Fang let out a loud howl that echoed in the whole place. Both waited for a while before spotting a small girl alongside a tall, muscular blonde man heading towards them. They stopped in front of them, and Connor stared in shock. The blonde man with a sweet smile greeted. "Good evening, Wolf Fang."_

 _Wolf Fang dipped his head. "Evening, Daniel."_

 _Connor could only stare stupidly as he didn't believe who he had in front of him, it was an ache to his heart yet huge happiness, the emotions were too strong for him. When Daniel noticed him, he amusedly said. "I expected a hug or something more affectionate from you than just a look."_

 _Warm shone in his green eyes and Connor instantly hugged him. "I missed you! We all did... Especially Greg..." Connor felt safe and happy for the first time in a long time._

 _Daniel hugged back. "I know, I've been watching over you, you know? I wasn't abandoning my son," He laughed. "And neither, and hopefully, my son in law in the future. You're too important to me."_

 _"You're too..." Connor said. It was unbelievable to Connor to be hugging Daniel after all these years since his death. He wished Greg could do the same... Greg missed his father dearly, one last hug wouldn't hurt anybody... Then Connor stood straight, confused about the last part of what Daniel just said._  
 _What did he mean with hopefully his son-in-law in the future? Wasn't he...?_

 _A small girl stood behind them, and she looked at him with round big blue eyes just like his own. In fact, she looked just like him, long brunette and spikey hair, tan skin with the difference that she had lighter_ pebbles _over her cheeks and nose, tall and sleek... She was probably six years old, though._

 _Her eyes shone and she approached him once Daniel let him go. "I've wished for this moment for a long time, I can't believe it's actually happening!" She smiled. She hugged him tightly and didn't let go of him._

 _Connor looked confused at Daniel and then back at her. "Do I- Do I know you?" He didn't want to sound mean, but he actually didn't know who she was._

 _Daniel giggled. "Now, now, Candela. What did we discuss before coming here?"_

 _She let go of Connor and blushed slightly. "To behave and introduce myself..."_

 _Candela... The name sounded familiar to Connor, **too** familiar, not only that, but he felt weirdly attached to her with a fiery determination of protecting her. He looked back at Wolf Fang and the wolf-themed hero put his hand over his heart. Connor took a few seconds to understand it but finally did. He gasped. "S-She's my-"_

 _"Sister," Daniel finished. "Twin sister, to be precise." Candela nodded vigorously beside him, sparkly eyes when she met his own. Connor felt saddened that such a beautiful girl was taken away from the world and from her family, though Connor didn't know if he preferred her here than in the real world,_  
 _where everything was tough and sad, but at the very same time he wanted her to experience the wonderful things the world had to offer._

 _She ran up to him and hugged him tightly, Connor's heart was filled with warmth. "I pleaded everyone to let **me** take you with us the day you finally joined us, I always wanted to meet you."_

 _Connor kneeled down and picked her up, hugging her tightly. "I always wanted to meet you too."_

 _"I know, I've seen the day mom told you what happened to me." She said. She sounded sad, but for a girl her age, she also sounded very mature. She parted from the hug and looked at him with a smile. "You're so tall!"_

 _Connor laughed sadly. "I bet you would've been taller than me, you're taller than I was when I was your age." Both of them laughed and hugged each other, a pang of sadness in Connor's heart. Connor wanted to get to know her, he always wanted, and now meeting her here felt just so... unreal. He felt so much happiness yet so much sadness._

 _"Come on, you don't have all day," Daniel said, motioning his hand to lead the way._

 _Candela jumped from his arm and laughing, ran ahead with Daniel. Connor looked at them leaving for a moment and then turned around, watching Wolf Fang, who had a sad expression on his face. "Thanks, for leading me here."_

 _"It was only duty, there's nothing you have to thank me for." He said. Connor noticed that the frost on his pelt was thicker again, and he guessed that watching the exchange between him, Daniel and Candela might have made him sad. "Go, you are wasting time."_

 _Connor nodded. "Goodbye, Wolf Fang."_

 _Wolf Fang dipped his head to him. "Goodbye, Connor. Good luck with Lightning Fur."_

 _Connor was confused for a moment but only dipped his head in acknowledgment. He stopped a few feet away and hesitantly turned around, seeing Wolf Fang leaving. He called after him. "If I see your family... I'll let them know you are okay. Especially your son."_

 _Wolf Fang smiled sadly. "Thanks, but I'll have to wait a few more years for you to tell them, sadly." With that said, he jumped into the bushes and disappeared of Connor's sight. Connor looked sadly but turned around to catch up with Daniel and Candela, or well, just Daniel._

 _"Where's Candela?" Connor asked._

 _Daniel, waiting on the open gate of the brick wall, giggled. "She went to tell her friends that her brother is here."_

 _When Connor caught up, both went inside the walls and walked through the empty streets. Connor looked around curiously... the place was just like Tarabiscoville, home, but so much bigger and starry. He noticed that each door had different names on them on a wooden sign hanging from the frame of it,_  
 _some of them looked fainter than others._ _Connor kept quietly walking ahead when he smiled with warm. "At least she's not alone in here."_

 _Daniel looked at him. "Candela? Nah, she has lots of friends, plus she has your family._ Your whole family. _" When Connor looked bewildered, Daniel laughed and explained. "Not your mother and brother, your other family. Your uncle Micah, your great great grandparents, some of your cousins, your paternal grandparents... all of them are here. She'll never be alone. Plus, she has me."_

 _"Always taking other people's children under your wing..." Connor laughed._

 _Daniel ruffled his hair playfully. "Are you complaining?" Connor laughed and shook his head. "Thought so..."_

 _"I'll never complain about it, you took me as your own son when Harold left me, I couldn't be more grateful," Connor said. Even though the memory of his father neglecting him was painful, he remembered warmly how Daniel took care of him and helped him through all of it._

 _Connor heard laughs and watched ahead, where he saw Candela with other three children running towards him. Another girl alongside her was almost the same size, but the other two boys slightly behind were smaller. A small blonde boy with unique icy blue eyes and darker spots around the irises approached him. He had fairly light skin and he had an undercut hairstyle. "Wow, you weren't kidding!"_

 _"Yeah! He's really here," Said a girl with short dark brown hair and bangs on the side. She wore a sparkly Magenta t-shirt with jean overalls and grey shoes. She had a sparky gaze that resembled Candela's, and lowering her head, she whispered to her. "He's pretty cool too..."_

 _"He is, Bella..." Said a short boy with fluffy black hair, pale skin, and greenish blue eyes. Over his right eye, and slightly hidden, he had a long scar that reached his cheek. When the boy looked at him, his exposed eye shone brightly with admiration. "He is so tall too!"_

 _The four friends laughed and Candela approached Connor, who kept watching what could be seen of the boy's scar. She whispered. "That's Calypso, a lion made that to him... he prefer to hide it though, so don't mention it." She pointed at the other boy. "Over there's Finn, and this right here," She said, pointing at the brunette girl with bangs. "Is Bella."_

 _Connor nodded and kneeled down. "Nice to meet you all."_

 _Candela, Calypso, Bella, and Finn grabbed his arm and dragged him ahead with big smiles adorning their faces "Come on! You gotta see the city before leaving!" Connor looked confused at what they meant, but he only shared a glare with Daniel. who smiled warmly at him and the kids, and let the little ones drag him into the starry streets of Tarabiscoville._

* * *

Greg sat at the top of the Headquarters, rain pelting on him in a grim and calmly manner. He's been there for almost two hours, grieving the death of his best friend on his own. He felt as if he had nothing to live for anymore, the guilt of what happened weight heavy on his chest. He cried silently into the night, quiet tears streaming down his face. He felt so cold, but he didn't care, all he could think about was Connor dying on his arms, he not being able to pull him out of the river on time.

He looked down the totem pole, exactly where his feet were hanging. It was so easy to jump and end every feeling of guilt and sadness that peered into his heart and tore it from the insides, but if he did, was it fair? He needed to tell Katrina about her son, it was his job, and he needed to take care of the Petit Masks. Now that Connor was gone, it was his job to train them, to care for them as much as Connor did; he owed Connor that.

The small trap door he used to get there opened. Everything was silent, but he could feel someone's intense gaze on his back, glaring at him like a falcon.  
He heard a sigh and later, a male voice spoke up. "We planned to bury him, Greg." Silence, only the sound of rain filled the place. "We... We wanted your consent..."

Greg only looked at his feet, hanging tentatively in the air. Why would they need his consent? Everything he did so far, every command he gave, only led to Connor's death, why would they even consider his consent on the matter? He didn't have a right so; he was a murderer, his best friend's murderer. He could still feel the burning gaze on his back, so without looking at whoever was looking at him, who he guessed was Riley, he answered. "You have my consent on everything, just get out of here..."

He got no answer, only the trap door closing slowly again and leaving him under the rain. He looked up, where the clouds moved ahead and left behind what was left of this past week's rain. He could see some brighter one, so he guessed that the moon was at some point going to show up and moonlit the clearing. He sobbed. "I'm sorry, Connor, I'm sorry..."

He kept repeating the same words over and over again for the next minutes, that to him, seemed ages. The time passed by slowly, nothing was clear to Greg, only the fact that his best friend was dead and that _that_ felt like a bramble thorn around his body and emotions. He looked on his side, where on a small crack on the wood of the Totem Pole, bindweed was growing.

It had beautiful white flowers with a yellow spot on the middle, and Greg, without thinking about it, reached it and tore it from its place and hold it between his hands. He tilted his head a bit, dull eyes on the flower. He blinked. _Pretty_. He closed his eyes and put the flower just behind his ear, with no intention whatsoever.

 ** _Flashback_**

 _5-years-old Greg shifted nervously on place under the hot Summer sunlight. Here and there, on the big yard around, numerous kids of different sizes,_ _ages and genders talked animatedly with each other, as if they knew each other their whole lives. He could easily go and talk to other kids, but a huge fear of rejection and the fear of doing something embarrassing in front of everybody held him back in place._

 _It was his mother's and aunt's idea to bring him to the Gardening Club. Such a bad idea that Greg felt annoyed that this cursed summer his aunt had to visit._  
 _He saw a bench not so far away, which was nicely ubicated under the shadow of a tree, and deciding he was tired of the heat that the sunlight produced he walked over to it and sat._

 _He was still too small to reach the ground, so his feet hang on the air a few inches above the grass. He grunted; he didn't even like gardening! He liked lizards, anything to do with them instantly drew his attention, but this? This had no purpose in his life, nor did it interested him. It was so boring._

 _"This is really cool, isn't it?" Greg looked just beside him, where a tall boy with spikey brown hair and vivid blue eyes looked at him with the sparkly of looks. "Well, at least to me, I do love gardening." Greg only stared back, not knowing how to answer. The brunette boy only kept talking, clearly too much into himself to notice that Greg was a little bit uncomfortable by his presence. "I'm the best at it, too. My mom said I'm the best at it in our neighborhood, so she must be right."_

 _Greg nodded, not knowing how to answer to that. He stared down at his hands fidgeting together, though with a pang of jealousy; the other boy seemed to be so good at talking to other people, Greg wished he could do that, yet he wondered why he decided to talk to him instead of much bigger and cooler kids._

 _"You don't talk too much, do you?" Asked the other boy, looking at him curiously._

 _"I do... but I don't know you..." Greg said._

 _The blue-eyed boy smiled. "Oh, sorry! The name's Connor." Greg smiled back at him, though he felt a little bit awkward at the way the other was looking at him: intensely. "You are the lizard kid, aren't you? I've seen you around the school and our neighborhood."_

 _Greg sat up straight, slightly annoyed. "I'm not a lizard kid, I just like them a lot."_

 _Connor got closer to him. "That's okay though, I like cats a lot too," He scratched his head. "My brother calls me Catboy for that."_

 _Greg giggled and looked at Connor. He was friendly, a little bit arrogant, but friendly; he made Greg feel happier about all the mess his aunt put him on._  
 _"I'm Gregory or just Greg."_

 _Connor was about to answer when a lady in the center of the yard yelled. "Welcome to the Daisy Bells Gardening Club! I hope you were having a wonderful time here while you waited for us and got to make new friends!" Greg risked a glance at Connor then back at her. "I'm Molly, and I'm gonna be the teacher for the lower level of the club! Older kids above the 8 years old can go with Coach Giacomo on the other side of the yard, he's gonna schedule your activities for the day."_

 _When the older kids moved away, Molly instructed the little kids to come near. Connor walked ahead but risked a few glances at Greg to make sure he was near him. Molly stood over them. "Okay, we are gonna make a few games to get to know each other so we can all get along! Does that sound cool?"_ _The kids eagerly answered and she smiled. "Amazing! Let's start by choosing a partner then, I'll give you two minutes!"_

 _The kids around Greg started moving, and he was slightly pushed aside by most of them. He glanced around but felt too shy to approach anybody. A tap on his shoulder made him jump and he turned around to met the vivid blue eyes of Connor. "Come on! Let's search for a comfy spot and wait for the others to finish their bickering." Both of them laughed and walked over a spot under the shadow of a tree._

 _Molly clapped her hands and everyone turned their attention to her. "Alright, has anybody been left alone? Nobody?" When she got no answer, she proceeded. "Cool! Let's start then, this is what we are gonna do..." She kept talking about what they were gonna do, but Greg couldn't pay attention. He had made a new friend! Though he hadn't done much... he still felt happy and couldn't be more eager to keep coming to Gardening Club with Connor._

 _He was sure they were going to become best friends._

 ** _End of Flashback._**

The rain now fell harder on him and Greg didn't notice he was sobbing hard when his vision became cloudy. He felt nothing but pain, grief, he missed dearly Connor and the thought that the other died thinking he hated him was too much to handle. He broke down, crying loudly at the rain, he wanted Connor back, and if not forever, at least to say sorry and goodbye.

The rain suddenly stopped and moonlight shone brightly on his eyes. Greg's tears kept running down as he stared confusedly up at the moon in the cleared and starry sky. He looked around to find that everything was quiet and normal in the clearing. "Guys...?"

 _Lizard!_

"Not you again!" Greg yelled angrily. "I made it clear that I didn't want to do anything with you!"

 _His spirit flourishes!_

Greg looked confused. "W-What?"

 _The Wolf is helping him come back!_

 _His littermates are walking alongside him!_

 _For three he plays, for three he strays, and for the last three he stays!_

A huge clap of thunder roared and lightning streaking not so far ahead brought Greg back to reality. What has happened? He looked at the patch of flowers beside him and he opened his eyes in surprise. _It has grown a lot more!_ He looked back at the trapdoor he used to get up in the first place. What if Connor wasn't fully dead? He couldn't let the others bury him yet!

He stood up and ran to the trapdoor, tripping for a bit before getting back up again and going downstairs. "GUYS!" He ran to the elevators and used them to get to the lower room. He jumped out of them as soon as he got there but instead jumped into Riley and both fell to the ground. Greg used his hands to stand over Riley. "You can't bury him yet!"

Riley, instead of looking dizzy because of the fall, looked rather upset and had a tired expression. "We just finished preparing him while you mourned upstairs."

Greg blinked and looked up. _Prepare...?_ He stood up and walked slowly into the room. Everyone looked at him when he stepped in but didn't seem friendly.  
Amaya didn't look at him, Silver didn't hide her angry expression, Federico had a fierce spark on his pink eyes and Riley just pushed him aside to walk inside.

Federico, through gritted teeth, said. "So now he shows up."

Greg ignored him and walked over to Connor's body, which was still lying on the floor, but had his hair dry and decorated with a flower crown. It was neatly done, the branches on it were tangled gracefully with each other and the flowers well arranged. He had Forget-Me-Nots mingled with Cyclamens and red Carnations, two Daffodils decorated the sides of his head... it seems as if his friends already prepared themselves to say goodbye...

Greg shook his head, and looking at them, he said. "We can't bury him yet!"

They shared for a moment a shocked expression before Riley burst out. "Have you lost your mind?"

Federico looked madly at him, grief clearly in his eyes. "You dare to go away and not help prepare the person _you_ killed and now you come with this nonsense?"

Riley looked at him, a little bit surprised. "Okay, let's not step-"

Federico turned at him. "SHUT UP!" He looked back at Greg. "If it wasn't for him, Connor wouldn't be dead, and anyone on this room knows it!"

Greg sighed. "I know... but," He hesitated for a moment. "He's not dead yet!"

Gasps of shock echoed in the room. Federico gritted his teeth and with tears in his eyes, he jumped onto Greg. Greg put his arms over his face while Federico punched him. " _HOW DO YOU DARE TO SAY THAT?!_ " Federico grabbed his forearms and started to hit Greg's head against the floor. Riley ran up to him and put his arms around his waist, taking him away from Greg. " _LET ME GO SO I CAN KILL HIM! WE'LL SEE WHO'S DEAD THEN!_ "

Riley held him tighter. "Can't you see?!" He yelled. "Everyone's here is grieving, not just you! Stop looking into yourself and realize that everyone here has suffered enough!"

Federico stopped fighting and just stood there, in Riley's arms. Before Riley took him out of the room, Federico glared deadly at Greg. "I hate you, I'll always do. You're a murderer, and I'll never forget what you did to Connor."

Greg looked at them before turning around and meeting Amaya's gaze. She spoke softly. "How could you say that?" She sobbed. "He died in your arms..."

The remainder gave Greg a wave of pain and loss that almost ripped him apart, but the voices of the animals echoing in his head kept him determined. "I know that it sounds crazy, and maybe out of grief... but," He sighed. "There are these animals that have been in my dreams, telling me scary stuff about water, rain, storms... it turns out that what they say it's true..."

"Yeah, right..." Silver muttered.

Amaya shut her up and looked at Greg. "How sure are you that those weren't just dreams?"

Greg gripped his arm and looked at his feet. "They foretold Connor's fate..."

Silver looked madly at him. "So you knew?"

Greg looked wildly at her. " _NO, I DIDN'T, UNTIL IT **HAPPENED**_." He fist trembled and he calmed himself down. He continued. "For some reason, they come to me and tell me this stuff, I don't know why, or how they know, but they are right."

Amaya just looked away. "How is this relevant? Besides the fact that they told you Connor was gonna die and you did nothing."

That felt like a thorn in his heart, but he kept his posture straight. "They just talked to me, again, and they told me things that I believe had to do with Connor." Silver was about to question him again with a sharp retort, but Greg annoyed cut her off. "I wouldn't know who are they talking about if it wasn't for the fact that Connor just died and it's the only person they ever talked to me about."

Silver just glared, deadly. "How do we know it's not out of your grief? You should stop, you're doing nothing but hurt us."

"I swear over my own life, please, let's not bury him yet." Greg pleaded, getting on his knees.

"Bullshit." Silver muttered while leaving the room. Greg understood that she didn't want him anywhere near her, or for the matter, near her teammates.  
He understood that she hated him as much as the others did.

He switched his gaze pleadingly at Amaya. "At least let's wait for sunrise, please! If nothing happens by then, then we'll bury him, I promise!"

Amaya looked uncertain and Greg knew she wasn't believing him, but especially, Greg could see how much his words were hurting her and that made him hate himself even more; he nowhere near wanted to hurt her, but he needed to try this. Amaya turned around, facing away from him. "I don't think we should, Greg... Silver is right," She turned back at him with a sorrowful gaze. "You are just doing this out of grief..." She stopped for a second, biting her lip, before continuing. "We all miss Connor here, not just you, okay? And I want him back as much as you do, but this?" She shook her head as she left the room. "This is nonsense, Greg, I'm sorry... I gotta check on the kids..."

Greg was left alone in the cold and eerie room with Connor's body not so far away from him. He sighed in defeat; how did he expect this would turn out? His teammates believing him? How an idiot he has been... what if he imagined all that? What if wasn't real? Maybe Amaya was right, maybe he's hallucinating out of grief... He shook his head. _No! I'm sure it was real! The flowers proved it!_

 _Take the Blue Cat far away with you!_

Greg looked around the room, where the lights flickered. _They are here!_ "How do I know this is not the wrong choice?"

 _Trust us! The nine stars will keep him safe and the moonlight will bring him back!_

 _They'll try to stop you but you gotta believe!_

Greg looked down at his hands as his heart pounded hard inside his chest. "Believe...?" He whispered. He looked at Connor, lying peacefully on the ground with the flower crown around his head. Greg's heart ached and a fierce determination burnt inside him.

 _Believe in your love for him, Lizard!_

 _You didn't save him before, do it now!_

Frowning, he looked at Connor's body once more before glancing back at the door Amaya just passed through. They weren't going to come back any time soon, not while he was there. He took a deep breath then turned around, walking towards Connor's body with clenched fists.

 _What he was about to do now was the craziest thing he'll ever do in his life._


	13. Chapter 12: Flowers

Disclaimer: Bella, Finn, and Calypso don't belong to me, they belong to contact_typhoon7, Lukas-Circus, and P0ketiger!

* * *

 _"We're all human, aren't we? Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving."_

 ** _― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_**

* * *

Chapter 12: Flowers

 _Back in the starlit city, Connor walked into his usual neighborhood, with the kids listening closely to him in awe. "... and then I jumped into the man, blinding him in one eye and saving my friends from the dirty hands of his men!" Connor finished his story with a little bit of exaggeration._

 _"Woah, you are so brave!" Finn exclaimed._

 _Calypso jumped between them. "He did it for his friends, I could do the same! We all could!"_

 _"Maybe it's better for us to stay away." Bella giggled._

 _Candela looked up at Connor. "Do you have more stories?"_

 _Connor was about to answer until Daniel interrupted him. "Alright kids, you know the deal." The kids protested and Candela pouted, Daniel kneeled down beside her. "You'll meet him again, Candela, it's not the end of the world."_

 _"Meet again?" He looked ahead into his neighborhood, where his house was located, then glanced back at them. "I'm not supposed to go in there?"_

 _Candela with her arms crossed and a sad expression said. "It's not your time yet... you have to go back, we promised Lightning Fur we'll take you to him."_ _She glanced at him, stardust glowing brightly on where the heart is supposed to be. Small white and pink petals started falling from that spot, and to Connor's horror, some of them were covered in blood._

 _Connor looked at the other kids, who had similar spots glowing with stardust and flowers. Calypso had them flowing from his neck and side of the face,_ _where the supposed scar Candela pointed out was. Bella had them coming from her side, where a long patch of the same flowers, which Connor realized were Oleanders, seemed to grow and started from her ribs and followed down to her hips. But Finn? Instead of the flowers falling from a certain spot,_ _they grew into healthy -but deadly- flowers in his fine skin while stardust shone under his feet._

 _He slightly pondered what happened to these kids that their lives were taken so early, but just the thought of it shook him up and he decided that the best thing he could do right now was to contain his curiosity. He glanced at Daniel. "Lightning Fur asked you to take me to him? Why? I'm de-"_

 _" **DON'T SAY IT!** " They yelled in unison._

 _Connor clenched his lips together and looked bewildered. Daniel stepped closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You are lucky to have the Cat Totem,_  
 _Connor. Now say goodbye to them, we already lost a lot of time."_

 _He turned to the kids and quickly said goodbye to Bella, Finn, and Calypso, who then proceed to left and go into their own assigned houses, Connor was slightly surprised to see Finn go into Greg's starlit home. He turned to Candela. "I'm glad we had a chance to meet," He hugged her. "We'll meet again."_

 _Candela hugged him tightly. "Don't let it be soon, silly."_

 _Connor laughed hurt. "I won't," He parted away with a bittersweet feeling. "Now go with our family."_

 _Candela, before heading home, asked. "Is there anything you want me to tell them?"_

 _Connor thought about his grandparents, Harold's parents... were they the same way his son was? Were they disappointed in him? He shook his head. He didn't care anymore about that. "Can you tell our grandparents that I miss them, dearly? Oh! And cousin Luisito, he was the best... We all miss him,_ _especially Aunt Dina... tell him that she loves him."_

 _Candela nodded and hugged him. "I'll tell them, Nor. Don't worry about our grandparents though," Connor looked at her surprised, it seemed as if she had read his mind. "They are mad at dad as you are, they don't judge you, no one does." She smiled and waved. "Good luck, Nor!"_

 _Connor thanked her and watched her go with a small ache in his heart, he hated the fact that such a small and wonderful girl didn't get the chance to open the beautiful gift of life and had to grow up here. Daniel nudged him carefully. "Come on, there's not enough time."_

 _They headed out of the neighborhood, Connor hurriedly walking behind Daniel. On their way to wherever they were heading, Connor got to take a look at Daniel. The man was still the same, buffy, tall, blonde, confident... just like a bigger version of Greg, though Greg was a little bit more nervous. On his back, the man had a spot in which a patch of Oleander flowers grew and petals fell as he walked, the Stardust was thicker as it fell. It wasn't the only spot though, there was another small patch on flowers on the side of his head, right on his temple, and another one on his side, such as Bella's._

 _Distracted, he bumped into him when Daniel stopped and he had to shook his head. "We're here."_

 _Connor scratched his head and when he looked, his mouth hung open at the sight of the magnificent wooden totem standing in front of him. "It's HQ!"_

 _"Right?" The man sighed. "Sadly, this is where we depart, son."_

 _Connor, fast as lightning, turned his head and glared at him. "What?" With a sadden expression, he asked. "You're not coming?"_

 _"I'm afraid not, sorry." Connor hugged him tightly, taking the man by surprise but didn't complain, instead, he hugged him back tightly and Connor closed his eyes as he buried his face on the man's shoulder. "Connor, you have to go, buddy."_

 _Connor sobbed slightly on his shoulder. "We miss you... We miss you a lot, especially Greg, he's been through a lot after you left." He said, recalling the events that took place three months after the man's death._

 _Daniel caressed Connor's back. "I know, I've been watching over him." They kept silent for a few moments. "Please take care of him, Connor. There's no one that knows him as much as you do."_

 _"I promise you, I'll take care of him," Connor said, parting away and wiping away a few tears. Before Daniel left, with a quiet tone he asked. "Is there anything you want me to tell him?"_

 _Daniel nodded. "Let him now that he needs to move on, not hold onto the past. He needs to live and experiment, come to a sense with himself... He already lost years of his life grieving, it's time for him to stop and move on, live again. Oh, and one more thing," He smiled sadly. "Tell him that I love him."_

 _Connor nodded and smiled sweetly. "Still the best father, as I remember." He sighed. "Goodbye." He waved at the man as he walked away into the usual path that led to HQ._

 _"It's not a g_ oodbye _, it's a s_ ee you later. _" Daniel said, smiling and walking away from the park, vanishing in a cloud of stardust as soon as he stepped into the streets of Tarabiscoville._

 _When Connor was half-way onto the bridge that hung over the shimmering waters, he spotted Lightning Fur ahead, but he didn't look good, in fact, the blue tomcat was fading away slowly and across his face, on the same side as his own, ran a long scar with shimmering blood coming from it. He gasped and rushed to help him. "What happened to you?!"_

 _Lightning Fur stood up, with his fur along his spine raised. "About time you got here!" He hissed, but then dropped into the grass. He panted hard and with a huge effort, he stood up. "We need to get inside now..." He said weakly._

 _Connor helped him and hold him on his arms. "Okay..." He headed inside with the hurt cat on his arms and used the usual elevators to get to his room. When he was there, he was surprised that not everything was the same. The PJ Crystal was there in the middle, the cat section of it was turning black and it was only half-way when Connor entered. Around the PJ Crystal were eight Crystal cats statues sitting gracefully in a circle, all of them looked different,_ _but five of them lacked the shimmer the three remaining ones had as if they were lifeless._

 _Connor spotted an empty place between a dark blue cat statue and a shimmering one. Lightning Fur jumped from his arms and landed roughly onto the floor, weakly he walked over to that spot and signaled his tail to Connor to come closer. "Come here, my cub. There's one last thing I need to tell you."_

 _"L-Last?" Connor asked bewildered as he sat in front of Lightning Fur. "What do you mean with last?"_

 _As soon as Lightning Fur sat in the same position as the other cats, his dark blue paws started to turn into crystal, the same blue crystal as the other cats._  
 _"I reached my end, Connor. This is the last time you'll ever see me."_

 _Connor horrified reached a hand and put it behind Lightning Fur's ear. "What?! No! You can't leave me!"_

 _Lightning Fur closed his eyes as Connor scratched his ear and let out a purr of affection. "I'm sorry, but this is part of the Cat Totem, Connor. There isn't only one Cat Totem, there's nine." When Connor only looked at him, Lightning Fur's tail twitched. An amused, yet sad expression adorned his furry face. "You are losing a life, just like a cat with nine lives would."_

 _"B-But if you go, who's gonna hunt with me on my dreams?" Connor asked in anguish._

 _"You'll meet them soon, Connor. For now, you gotta let me go, okay?" He asked for quietly. Lightning Fur let his fur lay still as half of his body was consumed by the crystal. For the first time, Lightning Fur looked at him with the most amazing blue eyes Connor had ever seen, on a cat or a person, the familiar empty white eyes he had faded. Stars adorned the blue and he seemed to hold a night sky inside them. Lightning Fur purred. "I'll miss you, for all the years and lives I lived for, you were the best cub someone could ever ask for, and whoever comes after me will be lucky enough to have you as their kin."_

 _Connor put his hand under Lightning Fur's chin and scratched it, relaxing the tom-cat. "I'll miss you too, Lightning Fur."_

 _Lightning Fur, as the crystal reaches his neck, said. "My last advice for you is for you to live your life as if you just were reborn. There are many wonderful things you haven't experienced yet, there are many things you need to tell others, especially Greg. Love yourself and gift every one of these things to yourself, reward yourself for all the good you've done, you deserve it. You've been protecting everybody else all this time, keeping your pain and grief bottled inside you to take on others' pain... it's time for you to protect yourself."_

 _Small tears streamed down Connor's cheeks as the cat was engulfed by the crystal. He nodded and sobbed slightly. Lightning Fur nudged him as he could and Connor drew closer to him. "Put your forehead over my nose." Lightning Fur instructed and Connor did as told. Lightning Fur closed his eyes._

 _"I gifted you the life of Care. You protected those around you for years, fighting and caring for them as if they were your own kin, even at the cost of your own soul. Sometimes this care led to bad choices, but nevertheless, you always did it for the right thing. You knew they cared for you, so you put your heart on their hands, trusting them with it with your life, and while some of them injured it on the way, that led you to those who were always there with you, to those who loved and remained true to you. It's time for you to stop putting everyone's problem above your own. It's time you start taking care of yourself." Lightning Fur's head was covered with crystal except for his mouth. "Goodbye, Connor. Have good hunting until the day you join the City of Stars."_

 _Lightning Fur let out the last sigh he breathed, it echoed around the place before completely turning into crystal. His light slightly became dim and dim until it held no more brightness and the cat stood there like a cold and lifeless statue. Connor put his hand behind the ears and felt a great pain in the chest when he did. The thought that he was never gonna see the tabby blue cat again was incredibly unbelievable and weight like a heavy stone._

 _He was clueless of what to do now, so still feeling sad, he sat near the PJ Crystal and waited for something to happen, slightly reciting words for Lightning Fur as the echoed of his last sigh faded away._

* * *

"I can't believe I'm doing this."

Greg walked through the dark forest effortly. The rain now barely fell and a little bit of moonlit peered through cracks on the clouds. Greg had no idea of what he was doing, but he knew it was the right thing to do; the animals said so. Over his back, Connor's body hung lifelessly while the flower crown slowly disarmed itself, petals of different colors falling on the ground. Connor's body was twice his size and as he walked, the other boy's feet dragged on the ground, getting full of mud.

He wasn't sure of _where_ he was going, but he knew he had to take Connor's body away from the others to prevent them from burying him. It was a matter of time before they found out and went on a killing hunt for him. _Where can I hide him?_

He heard the water roar ahead and realized he got as far into the forest as to reach the gorge. Greg hated the sound of the rushing water, it reminded him of everything that went wrong that night. Far ahead he spotted the bridge that crossed the gorge to the other side of the forest and he decided to cross it; the last place the others would think of looking would be the damned gorge that killed their best friend in the first place.

When he crossed, he let out an exaggerated sigh. "Okay, I can't do this anymore." He put Connor's body on the ground carefully and, taking his sweater and shirt off, he used the shirt that had the Gekko symbol -which he had been dragging with him all along and was full of mud- on it and used it to transform back into Gekko. He used his Super Strenght to lift Connor and walked away into the other forest ahead. He wasn't so far inside when he heard loud booms far away and noticed how flashes of color illuminated the sky.

They have noticed.

It was a matter of time before his teammates found Greg and made him disappear from existence. He got a stronger grip on the taller boy's body and ran away, looking around for a place where they could hide. He needed to be sure Owlette wouldn't find him with her Owl Eyes. He quickly stopped for a second; Foxwolf would scent them with his Super Scent.

He spotted a dead squirrel ahead and with a pang of disgust, picked it. _An Owl probably left it or someone killed it._ He opened the injury on the squirrel's belly then rubbed it all over his body and Connor's, staining both of them with its blood and covering them with its deadly smell. He gagged for a few moments before keeping it together and lifting Connor's body again to run away.

While he ran, the ground underneath him became unstable and he fell inside a hole alongside Connor. When he regained consciousness, he looked around in the darkness. His suit lighted up and he found himself in a rocky cave with stone peaks on the sides. A train trail followed ahead and Greg walked over it, Connor's body hanging on his arms again. When he entered a small cave, crystals of different colors decorated and illuminated the place. There was a hole on the roof from which moonlight now peered in as the rain had stopped and the Moon positioned herself on the sky.

He drew closer to a few of the crystals and decided to stay in the dark so the others wouldn't find him in there. Connor's head rested peacefully on his shoulder as if he was sleeping. "I'll bring you back, just you wait..." Gekko yawned. "We'll be... together again..." Yawn. "Soon..."

Gekko didn't know when was the moment he fell asleep.

* * *

 _Connor was sick of waiting, he felt as if it's been hours. He laid his head on the PJ Crystal and looked at the open roof of HQ; the night sky was full of stars and the Moon was high on the sky._

 _He wondered what his friends were doing, what were they feeling. Did the miss him? Did they care? Did Greg care about him? Was he sad, or felt relieved to finally have gotten rid of him? He shook his head. Greg surely didn't felt that way about him leaving them, right? He surely was feeling as sad as the others, but... were the others feeling sad for him?_

 _He couldn't give it more thought as a shimmering blue light illuminated the whole room brightly. He watched one of the cat statues light up and he slowly stood up and walked over to it._ What is happening? _The statue started to tremble and after a few more seconds, it exploded; the shattered crystal fell onto the ground and dissolved itself._

 _In its place, a sleek, tall and long-furred tabby blue molly cat stood there, slightly shaken up. She had white in her paws, chest and on the tuft on the tip of her ears. She had stripes in her legs and flanks, but from her forehead stretched a dark blue stripe that ran along her spine and ended right where the white of the tip of the tail started. A heart-shaped white mark adorned her furry chest and when she glanced up at Connor, Connor saw for a moment the same blue eyes that Lightning Fur had before they turned completely white._

 _She gave her pelt a shake and sat on the ground, rounding her paws with her tail. "Greetings, Alexander. I'm Foudre Strike, the third live out of the nine the Cat Totem has."_

 _"The name's Connor, not Alexander..." Connor said stranged._

 _She purred in amusement. "That you don't like your name doesn't mean it isn't."_

 _"I prefer Sacha..." He said. He felt stranged at her presence, she seemed to know things about him, but he didn't know a thing about her. "So... you're going to be my Totem from now on?"_

 _She nodded and purred. "I'm gonna be Lightning Fur's replacement, I'll be your guide, your spiritual counselor. If there's anything you need to ask me, or if you just want time alone, come to me and I'll fix that for you." She gracefully walked over to him. "So now, are you ready to go back?"_

 _"I... don't know..." Connor didn't know how to react._

 _Foudre Strike tilted her head confused. "I thought that's what you wanted."_

 _"It is, don't get me wrong but... all of this," He said, showing her around. "It's all so... wild and- and confusing." He looked at his feet. "How do I even now my friends want me back...?"_

 _Foudre Strike approached him and jumped on his arms. She looked at him right in the eyes. "Your lizard friend," An image of Gekko standing over his body in a cave surrounded of what seemed to be his friends, but angry, showed up in the sky. "He stole your body from your other friends because the Sacred Totems told him you were going back to them."_

 _Connor could only stare at Greg's determined face while he defended his body from the others. Foudre Strike nuzzled him. "He cares for you, and he wants you back as much as the others."_

 _"I thought he hated me..." Connor said, not taking his eyes away when both Snowfox and Foxwolf used their powers against Gekko, who used his Gekko Shields to protect himself from them._

 _"He doesn't, none of them do, they were just hurt... now all of that is in the past." Foudre Strike licked one of her paws and passed it over her face. "When you go back, tell them everything you ever wanted to tell them. Especially, tell your lizard friend the whole truth." Gekko was sent flying on the image Foudre Strike was showing him. Badgerclaw held him tightly into the ground, but Gekko frowned and used his Strenght to pull him out of him._ _"Say thanks to him as well, if it wasn't for him, your body would be deep in the ground alongside the roots of trees."_

 _Connor nodded. "Okay." He agreed quietly._

 _He sat on the floor, watching now Black Ear and Foxwolf use their Roars to stop Gekko from hurting Badgerclaw, but to no success as Gekko used the other boy as a shield from their blasts of sound. Foudre Strike spoke up. "Are you ready then?" Foudre Strike asked._

 _He smiled warmly at how determined Gekko was to fight for him. He kneeled down and put Foudre Strike on the ground. She purred and put her paw on his cheek, and before he could say 'yes', she spoke up._

 _"One last thing." She looked intensely into his eyes. "Once you wake up, your powers won't work the same as they did with your old suit, they might have slight changes or be completely new, but don't worry," She nuzzled him, her soft and long fur under his jaw. "Like the first time, you'll figure them out eventually, and it will seem as if you never changed at all."_

 _Connor nodded. "Okay." He closed his eyes and bent his head down. "I'm ready to go back."_

 _Foudre Strike took a step back and let out a purr of affection. "Lightning Fur was right. So far you're being the best kitten he's ever had, and I hope you'll be mine." Pressing her nose against his forehead, she said. "This is the life of Love. There's nothing as fierce as the love of a mother for her kittens._ _Love your beloved ones as if they were your own litter, and fight for them the same way a mother would defend her kits, but do not misunderstand me,_ _love yourself above everybody else but not so far ahead. Do not let your old mistakes get in the way of your new life, Connor." She traced her paw down over to his heart and said. "From now on you should never be known as Catboy, that's a past life. Be known as someone else, made your name ring in the ears of others, let the hope flow through them when they hear your name."_

 _She nuzzled his cheek once more time and when she spoke, her voice sounded distant this time. "Farewell, my kitten, we shall meet in dreams."_

 _A flash of white light blinded him and everything went black, but he didn't felt unconscious, in fact, he was pretty aware of everything. He looked around,_  
 _and voices echoing around caught his attention. Keeping still, he listened to them._

 ** _So, what do you say? Will you marry me?_**

 ** _Yes!_**

 _Who was this man? Why was Connor listening to him?_

 ** _Aren't they wonderful?_**

 ** _They are perfect... what should we name them?_**

 _Name them?_

 ** _What about... Daniel for him... and Katrina for her?_**

 ** _I think they are amazing..._**

 _Daniel and Katrina? His mother and Greg's father? What was happening?_

 ** _Kids! Be careful with your little siblings!_**

 _It was the same voice again._

 ** _I think we should take some time apart..._**

 _The voice of the man sounded so sad and distant, full of grief, and Connor didn't know why he was listening to him say all of these things but, besides that..._  
 _why was he feeling it as if it was him going through whatever the man was going through?_

 ** _I'm sorry! We should've never done this! Forgive me!_**

 _Why was the man apologizing for?_

 ** _We'll get through this, together, like we always did..._**

 _Connor heard the last sentence faintly as he slowly drifted into sleep._

 ** _I love you, I'll do it until the day I die._**

* * *

Gekko panted hard on the ground as Badgerclaw, Snowfox, and Foxwolf stood over him. He had fallen asleep for a few hours and was shaken awake when he heard the others coming closer to him. He wasn't able to hold them back. "I can't believe you had the guts to do this!" Foxwolf exclaimed, anger showing in his eyes.

"I'll do anything to bring Connor back!" Gekko spat.

 _"BUT HE'S NOT COMING BACK!"_ Snowfox yelled angrily, a spark of sadness in her cyan blue eyes. "Don't you get it? This is all nonsense! When somebody dies, there's no way of bringing them back..."

Gekko sat up and looked at her, her silhouette against the moonlight, which was fading as the moon descended and gave way for the upcoming dawn. He was not giving up on Connor, he just wasn't, at least not yet. Something inside him kept him believing that Connor was coming back, even though it has never happened before. "I believe he's coming back, Snowfox, and I'm not gonna change my opinion on that..." He replied with a low and menacing tone.

Snowfox snarled and her suit light up. She was about to give him a good scratch with her Ice Claws when everything around them started to glow. They all looked confused and looked back at Owlette, who was near Connor's body. She seemed as confused as them and none of them knew how to react.

Deep from the shadows of the caves, hundreds and hundreds of white, ghostly cats ran towards them, most of them hissing. They started to chant something, but none of them could understand them. When the moon moved and didn't illuminate the cave anymore, they disappeared in a _poof!_ and everything went quiet. "W-What just happened?" Badgerclaw asked, terrified and confused.

Gekko pushed them aside and ran towards Connor body, none of them tried to stop him this time. Owlette hovered in the air and the kids stood near the other three members of the team as Gekko put his hand on Connor's cheek and waited. _Come on... come back to us..._

The stripes on Connor's Catboy suit started to glow, the flowers on the broken flower crown started to grow. His skin slightly went back to its normal color, his cheeks warm as they used to be. The horrible scar that ran along his face started to heal itself, leaving only a remarkable scar but wasn't as deep as it used to be. In a flash, Connor's suit went back to his original clothes and the Crystal Cat that was around his neck glowed brightly for a few seconds then went dark again.

Nothing happened for a few moments, and Gekko risked a glance with the other before turning back to Catboy. "C-Connor...?"

Connor took a deep breath, shocking everyone in the cave. He shifted awake slowly, blinking as he tried to make out where they were. When he looked at his friends, he smiled. "Take's more... than a- than a stupid river... to kill me..." He said weakly.

Gekko smiled and he removed his mask, tears streamed down his cheeks. _"CONNOR!"_ He hugged the brunette boy tightly, causing the other to flinch in pain. Greg held Connor on his arms as the taller boy had trouble moving and getting up. Greg kept hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry, for everything! I've been a jerk to you when I should've just moved on!"

"It's okay..." Connor replied in a raspy voice. "That doesn't matter anymore..." Greg noticed Connor looking at the others with a smile. "You look as if you just saw a zombie..."

The others laughed and sat around Connor, hugging him as well. Owlette looked at Greg. "I'm sorry, Greg..."

"We should've believed you... We've seen craziest things than this..." Snowfox added in a shocking state, though the joy decorated her face.

Greg only nodded, acknowledging their apologies, but he only kept focused on Connor. The joy he felt right now... he couldn't compare it with anything. His eyes were witnessing the impossible, his best friend was alive! He was given another chance to hear him laugh, to see his vivid blue eyes again, to do everything he always wanted with him... Greg smiled and hugged him closer, his faces almost an inch apart.

"Connor!"

Greg and Connor parted away when the three little kids ran up to him with the biggest smiles Greg had ever seen. The almost jumped on him as soon as they stood close enough and they hugged him too. Connor laughed and hugged them back, they sure had missed him dearly. "You came back!" They exclaimed. Greg found the moment heartwarming, though on the back of his mind he wondered why the kids didn't find any of this shocking... was it all the troubles they had gone through? Or was it because of all the craziest thing they had lived this two last weeks?

Greg stood up, wiping away a few tears. "Maybe we should go back to HQ... it's kinda freezing in here." He said wrapping his arms. The others laughed at his remark and standing up, he lifted Connor and hold him on his arms. With the moon still lighting their way, they all headed back to HQ, together, as it should be.


	14. Chapter 13: Catboy's Quest

_"Undertake a quest or any long, challenging project, and you won't come out of it the same."_

 ** _― Chris Guillebeau, The Happiness of Pursuit: Finding the Quest That Will Bring Purpose to Your Life_**

* * *

Chapter 13: Catboy's Quest

The Moon, or what was left of it, shone brightly on the sky, the menacing rain clouds of before already moved away, giving the night sky a chance to show itself for the first time in a week. Dawn was only a few hours away, and to Greg, it would be the first dawn he'll ever remember. The light of the day would come and will shine brightly again over his best friend as if nothing happened, when in fact, a lot happened within one night.

"What are you doing here all on your own?" Greg spun around with a smile when he heard that voice, meeting with vivid blue eyes again, blue eyes that he thought he'll never saw again.

"Enjoying the view this totem gives. Better than the one ours give, Connor." He laughed and watched Connor sat beside him on top of the totem pole.

Connor laughed. "I didn't get the chance to be here yet." He was about to put a hand on the patch of flowers that grew there, but Greg stopped his hand on time. Connor looked confused.

Greg smiled. "If it wasn't for those flowers, you were gonna come back to earth in your lungs. They are special, at least to me."

Connor smiled at him and put his hand on his lap instead. With an amused expression, he said. "So you stole my body, huh?" Both of them laughed and then Connor proceeded. "How did you knew what the animals said to you was true?"

Greg sighed and for a moment he seemed sad. "They told me you were going to die, but they used expressions I didn't understand until it was too late." He kept quiet for a moment, looking down at his hands, but then he looked back up to Connor. "Then they came here telling me that you were coming back, and at first I had trouble understanding, I even thought it was only a hallucination for losing you." He looked back at the flowers. "Until those flowers, dead and only a few remaining, grew up again into a whole new and healthy patch. That's how I knew it was real." He played with the sleeve of his sweater. "Grief helped a bit too..."

Connor suddenly hugged Greg, catching him by surprise. "Thanks, for believing..."

Greg hugged back instantly. He didn't get to hug his friend in a good while, and last night proved that was one of the worst decisions he's ever made, he wasn't letting it happen again, with anybody. "I wasn't letting you go that easily."

Both of them parted away, and Greg saw how something occupied Connor's mind. It was evident with his gaze. Connor spoke up. "Earlier when... you know, when Bleeder's man was here..." Greg flinched a bit at the thought, but it was something he didn't want to think about anymore. He decided only to listen to Connor. "You said you tried to forgive me, is that true?"

Greg thought about the dream in which he saw both younger versions of himself and Connor, and how Green Fang talked to him. "Yeah, Green Fang put a little bit of sense into my head..." He rolled his eyes amusedly. "About time someone did." Both laughed and then Greg, with a sly smile, said. "He showed me that time when we were younger when I won you on a race back home. Remember? As Gekko and Catboy."

"I'm sure I was just clumsy that time," Connor opened his eyes big and looked at Greg accusingly. "And you cheated that time! You took a shortcut!"

Greg put his hand over his mouth to avoid laughing. "You never said we couldn't."

"Uh, yes, I did!"

Both laughed at the memory and looked at each other before looking ahead, where the slope was located and the top of some abandoned buildings could be seen. After a few moments of silence, Greg quietly said. "Sorry, for being a jerk to you."

Connor sighed. "I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have worked with her, no matter the circumstances..."

Greg looked down at his feet, hanging in the air a few feets away from the ground. "Why did you, though?" Greg looked at Connor sadly. "I always wanted to ask, but I didn't want to talk to you... I was afraid that if I did, and you answered me with something that I would think about, we would go back to being friends and-"

Connor took Greg by surprise when he finished his sentence. "I would stab you in the back again, I get it." He looked at Greg. "I would've probably reacted the same way."

Greg shook his head. "Nah, you wouldn't have. You're a better person than I'll ever be." He diverted his gaze from Connor. "I didn't have the guts to say sorry until you died." He laughed in sadness. "That says a lot about who I am." Greg felt a hand on his shoulder and looked at Connor's eyes with a blurry vision.

"That doesn't say anything about you, Greg. You were hurt, that's understandable, anyone who's human would've reacted to pain in the same way you did," He intensely looked at Greg. "Believe me when I say that I would've reacted the same, maybe even worst." Greg smiled sadly at Connor and looked ahead once more. Connor shifted beside him and he felt Connor closer than before, which brought him a sense of peace and relief.

Connor's voice came from beside him. "You asked me why I helped her, didn't you?" He heard Connor sigh and then the taller boy proceeded. "I was afraid, just like you." Greg looked at him surprised and Connor nodded. "See? I told you, I would've reacted the same way." Connor giggled grimly and then his face became dark. "She said that if I didn't help her, she was going to hurt you, all of you."

"You don't surrender that easily to anybody, any less her," Greg said, worriedly this time.

"That's true, and I didn't want to work with her, I refused at first, but then..." He looked down at his fingers playing with each other, pain in his eyes. "She used me to hurt you and Luna. She messed with my emotions, with my head. She-"

Greg looked blankly. "She tortured you." Connor looked up at him. "She tortured you into doing so."

Connor nodded slowly. "She knew it, she knew how I felt back then, about my family, about my friends," Connor looked away with a small blush on his face. "About you..."

Greg had to look up at him when he said that. What did he mean with that? _About you..._ Greg kept silent until an idea came to his mind, an idea that made his heart skip a beat. Connor still didn't look at him. "Did you- did you like me? Like," Greg motioned his hands. "Did you like me? In more than just a friendly way?"

It took Connor a few minutes to answer. "Yeah... I did." He looked Greg in the eyes and Greg felt completely lost. "She used my feelings towards you against me. She knew how jealous I was of Luna-"

"You were jealous of Luna?" Greg asked, though curiously this time.

Connor nodded. "Of course I was! She did everything I couldn't, she had everything I couldn't. When your father died-" Connor lowered his voice. "When your father died, I tried to be there for you, many times, but I didn't make it there and you became- and you became Drakko."

Greg reached a hand to him. "Connor..."

"And- And in that battle, she also had to rush in to help! She was always there and I was so goddamn jealous because she did the things I couldn't." Greg looked at how Connor's hand opened and closed each time. "I wanted to make you feel like you weren't alone during that time, I wanted to make you feel loved," He lowered his voice. "Like you did when my father disowned me... but I failed, I failed and she didn't." He looked down at his hands. "She made you feel everything I wanted to make you feel." His voice became even lower. "Of course I was jealous."

"You never told me that..." Greg wasn't sure how to react to all that Connor just said.

"Not like I could, she was your girlfriend at the moment, I couldn't just... jump in and say all those things, now, could I?" Connor asked. Greg shook his head in silence, while also trying to sort out the feelings of confusion inside him.

"Miss Masquerade used that against me, everything I told you." Connor shut his eyes. "Sometimes I can still feel the pain of her spells in my head, how she would enter my mind and torture me with all of you." Connor opened his eyes and Greg could see a hint of fear in them. "Her voice is still there, I don't think it will ever go away. It haunts me each and every day, even in my dreams."

Greg moved to Connor's side and both of their arms brushed, causing Greg to feel even more confused when he felt chills run down his spine. He ignored that and said. "There's no need to explain further if it hurts you, I got enough information." Greg looked up at Connor, and for some reason, their height difference felt even more obvious now. "Sorry for bringing it up..."

"You didn't know, there's nothing to apologize for." They kept looking at each other and curiousness sparked Connor's eyes. Greg was about to say something until their communicators rang. Connor was the first to answer. "What is it?"

"We need to discuss something important, come down." It was Amaya.

"We are on our way." He clicked the communicator to shut it off and with a smile said. "Well, you heard her. We better head off." He stood up and walked to the trap door they used to get up there in the first place.

Greg had to ask, though, his curiousness was too strong to be held back. Nervously, he spat. "Do you- Do you still like me?"

Connor stopped and looked at him, a small blush on his face. He nodded. "I do, but I don't mind anymore if you are something else to me or not, I just want us to at least remain friends... I can't imagine my life without the presence of my best friend." Was all Connor said before heading down. Greg sat there for a few moments, confusion took over his body as a bubbling feeling inside made him feel strange. He shook it off and shortly after he followed Connor down.

* * *

Connor walked over to Amaya, who was standing in the middle of Unità's Room. The Petit Masks were sleeping on a nearby bed; it seems that everything had tired them heavily. When Amaya heard him she spun around a faced him. "Good, you're here." Shortly after Greg walked into the room as well. "You too, great."

"What's all this about?" Greg asked, standing closely next to Connor. Connor shrugged, he had no idea.

Amaya proceeded. "I guess after all that happened, we are leaving this cursed place, right?"

Connor replied quickly this time. "Yes, we are. We are not staying anymore here, it's not safe, not for us, or the kids."

Amaya nodded. "And that's what I wanted to talk about." Connor and Greg shared a confused glance. "What are we gonna do with the kids? They can't stay here, but we cannot stay here forever either." She looked at Connor. "It's your call."

Connor had decided what would happen to the kids long ago when he came to the conclusion that they needed to leave that place as fast as possible. "We are taking them with us," Connor said. "I'll take them with me and train them there in Tarabiscoville, away from danger and this cursed city."

Greg spoke up, putting his hand on Connor's arm. "We'll help you with them. They are our responsibility as much as they are yours." Connor smiled at him and then both looked at Amaya, who was smiling weirdly at the two of them, though Connor knew exactly what that smile meant.

Amaya giggled when Connor glared at her. "Alright, let's pack then. We'll leave in the morning." She walked over the picture player. "I'll get bus passes."

Connor stopped her. "Don't make one for me, I'll go back on my PJ Rover."

Greg looked at him. "But the rest of us are underage, we can't take the kids with us even if we wanted to."

Riley walked into the room beside Federico. "And that, I suppose, is where I come in." All of them laughed and Connor nodded amusedly. Riley sighed in defeat. "Figured."

"You are a legal adult, you can take them," Connor nodded and amusedly added. "All of us if you want."

"I'll do it," He said, and the murmured. "Not like I have other option." All of them laughed and Amaya proceeded to use the Picture Players to get their bus passes. Everyone around the room moved for a few moments, putting everything in place until she ran with a problem.

"We have a small problem." All of them, including Silver who just walked into the room, looked at her. "Next bus leaves at 8 AM but not all of us can go in it. It's almost full already."

"One of you can come with me if you want." Connor offered.

"I'll go with him," Greg added. "You take the kids with you."

Amaya nodded with a little smile. "Alright. Let's get ready then." Everything around the room became noisy as everyone got a hold of their stuff and put it in its rightful place. Connor looked at the kids sleeping, and even though he hated to wake them up, it was 5 AM and they needed to get prepared. He walked over to them and shook them gently.

Vita rolled on her side and sleepy faced Connor. She yawned. "What's happening?"

Hope rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Why is everybody still awake?" Unità sat up on the bed, scratching her head confused and tired.

"We are leaving," Connor said. That seemed to wake them up and they stared at him confused. "I'm taking you back home with me."

Their eyes shone brightly. "Really?!" They seemed excited and instantly forgot about their sleep.

Connor nodded and they stood up. "Get some of your stuff and pack them in your luggage." Connor pointed at three bags not so far away from his. "Then get ready to leave. You are gonna go with Amaya and the others, okay? I have to take my Rover with me, so I won't be on the bus with you." They nodded and eagerly jumped from the bed and started packing stuff they considered necessary.

Connor looked around. It was gonna be time before he was coming back to this place, and he wished it was gonna be a _long_ time. This place was both mysterious and cursed, and Connor didn't want to do anything with it ever again. Everything went down here, and he feared if the kids stayed, something bad would happen to them. He walked around and grabbed his own stuff.

This was hopefully the last time he was gonna be here.

* * *

The bus station was crowded with people. Greg had to make his way through the wave of people, often pushing them aside gently, or if the person required it, harshly. He was carrying alongside Connor the kids' luggage while Hope clung to his arms nervously. He could understand the kid, it was too crowded for his taste. Unità walked confidently beside Amaya ahead and Vita walked calmly beside Connor with her cuddly on arms.

Connor was carrying one of the luggage alongside a small metal cage with two Chinchillas inside. Greg giggled at the sight, Connor looked so done of the little animals. "Guess you didn't come back to life to handle two furballs," Greg said while his lips trembled and his eyes shone with a spark of amusement.

"Thinking about it, I might leave you behind," Connor said.

Greg burst laughing and Connor looked amusedly at him. They kept walking ahead until Amaya stopped. "Well, this should be our stop." She said and looked at Connor. "The men on the tickets stand said you have to take them in another bus." She said pointing at the two Chinchillas. Connor nodded and handed Greg the luggage he was carrying.

"I'll be right back."

Greg nodded and Amaya stared at him as he looked Connor walk away. When he noticed her, he asked. "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing..." She giggled and when Greg was gonna ask her what was the deal, Connor got back.

"They are boarding them into another bus." He put a hand under his chin. "We gotta give them credit for being so organized though." They all looked amused at Connor's commentary for a little while until Amaya spoke up.

"You can leave if you want, you have a longer trip than we do." Amaya signaled at the others behind her. "We can handle this."

Connor walked to her. "Are you sure?" She nodded. "Okay..." He looked uncertain but Greg put a hand on his shoulder and looked reassuringly at him, which seemed to ease his anxious feelings for a bit. Connor kneeled in front of the kids to say goodbye to them and tell them to behave and then, stood up and looked at Greg. He spoke up. "We'll meet you back home. Wait for us, I don't think our parents will be happy about us leaving..." He laughed nervously.

"Alright, and I agree, we'll be grounded forever." Amaya agreed. They all laughed and waved their goodbyes to Connor and Greg as they left the bus station. They walked outside, exactly where the Rover was parked. Connor paid the man who was watching over it while they were gone and both got on it, using helmets to avoid anything from happening.

Greg put his arms around Connor's waist and Connor asked. "Ready to go back home?"

"I've never been more ready in my life." With that said, Connor started the Rover and drove away from the Station. They drove onto a street surrounded by the Finch Pines forest and Greg looked at it. What a wild place this forest was. The Spring sun shone between the leaves of the trees on the side of the road and gave the whole place more of a summery ambient. When they left the forestry road, Greg got a tighter hold onto Connor and watched how Milennia Town faded away on the distance.

He hoped this was the last time he was coming here. The place, even though it had its beauty, was cursed and Greg didn't want to do anything with it.

* * *

Far in the distance, the sun was hiding behind the shape of the mountain trail. Greg admired the sunset view for a few more moments before Connor said.  
"We are almost there." And he was right, Greg could see the shapes of the familiar buildings of the Tarabiscoville. It had taken them all day to get there, especially because they did a small stop on Courant City, Connor had begged him to.

There, they had lunch and ran into what seemed a friend Connor had made, her name was Marina. During lunch, Connor had explained how his first trip to Milennia Town was, explaining everything that happened there in Courant City and on the way after that. Greg's heart started to beat faster and he felt his face get red as he recalled the things that happened on their little stop.

He sighed and decided to push it to the back of his head while they entered the city. "Head to HQ, the others surely arrived already."

Connor nodded and drove his Rover to the park. The streets were pretty empty for being a Saturday and Connor could easily drove inside the park and head directly to HQ. He parked it behind HQ and both entered the totem pole, where they were received first by the Petit Masks. "Connor! Greg!"

They hugged them and Hope said. "You took forever!" He looked around Greg's Room. "This place is amazing!"

Greg smiled and looked at Connor. "Let's meet with the others, it's time to go back." Connor nodded and they headed to the upper room, the kids followed shortly after.

* * *

Connor and the others made their usual way to their homes. The kids looked around curiously ahead, Federico and Riley talked lowly together with their heads close to each other, Silver and Amaya talked animatedly to each other and Greg walked not so far away from him, keeping an eye on the kids.

Connor watching him, felt how his blood rushed up to his face recalling what happened on their little stop back in Courant City. He put his hand over his mouth and shook his head, trying to shake any other feeling. They stopped and Silver said. "This is my stop." She opened the door of the small fence at the entrance of her house. "Good luck with you. Tell me how it went with your parents afterward." Was all she said before using her keys to enter her house.

They kept walking and not so far ahead, Federico and Riley stopped. Connor instantly recognized Riley's house. It was so different from the others that it was easy to tell it apart from the others around. Riley walked with his luggage over to his house, where after he rang the bell, he was welcomed by who Connor assumed was his father.

The tall and sleek man with dark hair just like Riley's looked down at him. "You decided to come back, I see." He let the Asian boy pass. "Come on. We have to talk, severely."

Anger burned inside Connor at seeing that Riley's father was not even remotely happy to see Riley, he reminded him of his own... Greg pushed him slightly. Riley was gone and the door to his home was closed. "I feel the same way, but we need to leave, too." Was all Greg said before walking alongside Amaya and Federico. Connor took a last glance at Riley's home and followed.

At the end of the street, Federico stopped and looked at them. "I gotta go this way." He waved at them. "I'll update you with my parents... if I don't die of course." They laughed and Federico left. They kept walking their own way.

Vita looked at Connor. "I thought you all lived together."

Connor chuckled. "No, but the three of us leave really close." He said, referring to Amaya, Greg and himself. Vita nodded as they walked ahead.

 _ **20 minutes later,**_ they made their way into their usual neighborhood, his heart beating fastly. On the two weeks they spent on Milennia Town, Connor had called his mother _once_ to tell her that he was okay, but he never told her where he was or why he left. He was worried about how much she had been anxious over him and wondered if that interfered with her work and other matters on her life.

"This is a pretty place," Unità observed. They walked into the path that led to their homes, and stopped first in Greg's, not knowing to the surprise they were going to run into. When they rang the bell, they could hear Greg's mother inside. Greg looked rather anxious and Connor tried to relax him as the lock on the door unlocked.

"Yes, what-" Lina stopped as soon as she saw all of them. Her shocked expression shifted from Greg to Connor, to Amaya and then to the kids, the last ones confusing her a lot. "Katrina! Alexander! They are here!" She grabbed Greg by a wick on his hair and pulled him inside. "You three come inside now!" She scolded, though she showed a huge relief seeing the three of them.

Connor signaled the kids to follow him inside and then he met his mother's gaze. Connor smiled at her uncertain, but tears streamed down her face and she ran up to him, hugging him. "My baby!" She almost choked Connor because of how strong she was hugging him, but Connor didn't mind, he hugged her back.  
"You're alright!"

"Sorry for lying to you, I promise I'll never do it again." He apologized to her.

She smacked slightly the back of his head. "Never again, Alexander Connor Evans!" But she hugged him tighter. "But I'm so relieved you are alright..."

On the background, he could see Lina scolding Greg and Alexander giving Amaya a lecture. They didn't seem genuinely mad, more like worried about their own good, and relieved that they were back home in one piece. Katrina parted away from him and put a hand on his face, right over his new gained scar. "What happened to you?"

Connor sighed. "It's something I need to tell you, but back home, it's something important that I should've told you long ago..."

Katrina took a looked at the kids. "Who are these little ones?" She said, kneeling down in front of them.

Unità spoke up for her friends, who shifted on their places. "I'm Unità, and these are Hope and Vita." She said pointing to Hope and then at Vita. "Connor brought us here."

Connor, fidgeting a little bit on his place, said. "They are staying with me, mom, they don't have a home..."

Katrina looked at him. "Look at you, becoming a parent at age sixteen." She stood up. "They can stay in Fidelite's old room." She walked over to Lina, who was hugging Greg. "We are leaving if you don't mind."

Lina looked at her. "Of course I don't mind, Connor's back home. Besides," She looked at Greg. "I'm not done talking with this little man." Greg chuckled nervously and looked pleadingly to Connor. Connor looked amused and waved goodbye to Amaya and Greg as he and the kids followed Katrina outside, to his home.

Once inside, Connor settled down with the kids again and told them for a bit to stay in their new room for a few minutes while he talked to his mother. Titina was curious of them, so she stayed on the room and inspected them curiously, entertaining them while Connor made his way downstairs. Once there, he saw his mother sitting in a chair on the kitchen, a cup of tea on her hand. She handed him another. "It's your favorite."

Connor smiled and thanked her, taking a sip. Once done, he said. "There are things that I need to tell you..." Katrina sat up straight on the chair and listened carefully to him. When Connor was sure he got her attention, he proceeded. "The reason I lied to you is that for years, mom, I've been a..." He hesitated for a moment. "I've been a vigilante, or hero, whatever." His mother looked rather surprised. "I know, it sounds stupid just to say it like that, but-"

"No, I believe you." Katrina suddenly burst out.

"You do?" Connor was surprised at how chill his mother was taking the whole thing.

She smiled. "It would explain a lot of stuff, Connor. Especially these kinds of scars that you have." She said, passing her hand on Connor's scar. "It would explain how you got so mature in such a short period of time too." She looked at him warmly. "I'm a mother, Connor, I know when you keep things from me, and now that you told me, that feeling is gone."

Connor just sat there. "So you don't want proof or anything...?" He pointed at his bracelet. "Because I have it."

Katrina stood up and hugged her son. "No, Connor. I don't want anything but your word," She said. "But please, don't lie to me like that again, okay?" Connor nodded and walked next to her to hug her. Everything seemed alright now, everything seemed settled. He had finally told the truth to his mother, he had brought the kids with him, everything with his friends was alright, and now everybody was together again.

This is an adventure Connor will never forget, to him, it was a deep memory that was not worth forgetting. It taught him a lot of stuff, especially to stand up to himself. This quest he took to find the kids turned into something special to him, but now? His quest was over as Connor, but especially as Catboy. That person was no more, this was the beginning of the quest of the new person and hero he was gonna become...

 _ **This was the end of Catboy's Quest.**_

* * *

 **Wow, okay, this is a lot to take in HA**

 **I had been writing this for over a year and it feels so surreal to be finally finishing it. This is the first story I have ever finished, and I'll always remember it, but that did not come from my own. Thanks to those who kept reading this story until its very end and left a review, either short or long, on the story. Your amazing words kept me going until the end, and I couldn't be more grateful for them, without them I would've have stopped long ago. Seriously, thanks, you're the best.**

 **After this, there's a small epilogue, so look out for that if you wanna find out what it's about. Again, thank you to those who stuck with the story to its very end :) Hope you enjoyed it and stay with me on the next one! Thanks for reading!**

 **-Dapple**


	15. Epilogue

I updated this since the first epilogue didn't convince me. Enjoy!

* * *

 ** _"This is not over, Founders. From now until 6,000 years in the future, thunder will rise from the darkest of shadows and your destinies will face the bloodiest storm of them all._** ** _The war will be back."_**

 ** _-?_**

 **Epilogue**

The brunette girl made her way through the stone path in the dark caves. The air was humid around and made her hair all messy, which she hated; well, she hated a lot of stuff, but this one in particular. The light in the caves ahead of her became brighter as she stepped ahead and she smiled maliciously, knowing exactly what that place was.

She stood in front of the huge sculpture in front of her and took a quick look at it for a few moments; the sculpture was missing four of its figures, only the dead animals remained and one black hooded guy in the bottom. Her pendant glowed slightly and she looked down at it, admiring it. It was such an artifact with so much power, it made her feel like the person everyone should've thought she was.

A powerful girl capable of anything.

An electric sound echoed in the caves, and rolling her eyes, she spun around to face the creature she was waiting to bump into. Above her stood a 6 feet tall man with dark ginger skin. A pair of wings shot from his back, his feathers were of a dark blue and pastel yellow. His body, while it was the shape of a human body, was feathery as a bird's except for the lower part, which was covered by dark blue pants.

The brunette girl scoffed. "Don't ruffle your feathers too much, I'm not scared of you."

From his pastel yellow eyes shot lightning and the tips of his finger, which were actually long yellow claws, had small lightning bolts running through them. "Let's see when I actually stop your heart." He said through gritted teeth, which showed his white, sharp fangs.

The girl rolled her eyes and dismissed him. "I wanna see you try." His Marine blue hair, feathers, and feathery tail fluffed and the lightning bolts intensified. The girl didn't even flinch. "Calm down, stupid bird. I freed you, you owe me."

"I don't owe you anything." He snarled.

The violet-eyed girl's lip curled. "God, you're so stubborn." She smiled. "Let's see how stubborn you are when Nahiri shows up."

His threatening changed to a surprised one, he asked. "Goddess Nahiri is here?"

The brunette girl smiled and a hissing sound broke the silence. "Indeed, Thunder Wing." Thunder Wing and the girl turned around and from the dark of the cave, a long, scaly Cobra snake with shining red eyes slithered through the stone path that the girl used to get there. Nahiri stopped and rose above both of them, hissing and looking intensely at Thunder Wing. "I'm everywhere, anywhere and whenever, Thunder Wing. I'm not done with _anything_ yet." She said in a soothing yet dangerous tone.

Thunder Wing kneeled in front of her, his wings and the long bird tail behind opened. "My goddess, I didn't know I was treating with one of your henchmen, forgive me."

Nahiri dipped her head to him and looked at the girl. "Excellent work freeing Thunder Wing, Miss Masquerade." Hiss. "Now we can start our new plan." Miss Masquerade smiled.

Thunder Wing looked confused. "What new plan, my goddess? If I'm allowed to ask."

Miss Masquerade scoffed and answered. "To take over the world and bring Magicster back, idiot, what else?" She looked at Nahiri. "I might have run into a few new victims for Thunder Wing on my little trip, Nahiri."

"Well done." Nahiri looked intrigued though. "Did you managed to catch up with that puppet of yours, Yaotl, Miss Masquerade?"

Miss Masquerade smiled maliciously. "Yes, and I have precious information for you." Nahiri looked expectantly. "He has made three new allies," Nahiri was about to object something until Miss Masquerade stopped her. "These three new allies are kids, and they've been exposed to the Prophet's Stone." She said, pointing at the sculpture.

Thunder Wing stood up and narrowed her eyes. "How?" He looked at Nahiri. "She could easily be lying."

Nahiri hissed and glared at him. "She's accomplished great stuff in the past, she could compete with you, Thunder Wing, you're more alike than you think." She shifted her attention to Miss Masquerade. "Explain."

"I've been watching the PJ Masks and those annoying little kids of theirs, the Petit Masks, for the past two weeks. During one of their stupid training sessions I used my pendant to sink the ground and expose the Crash Caves for them to explore, and as expected," She looked back at the Prophet's Stone. "They did."

Thunder Wing shook his feathers to get rid of the humid feeling and asked. "I've felt the presence of people in here," He looked at Nahiri. "When they were here the soul of my apprentice, Night Seeker, disappeared from the Prophet Stone, a few hours later I was released from this cursed stone."

Nahiri looked at Miss Masquerade. "Which one did Night Seeker choose?"

"The most vulnerable of the peasants, Hope." Miss Masquerade showed her pendant. "I followed them here and put a spell on his soul, Night Seeker took that chance to inhabit it." She looked at Thunder Wing. "You'll be able to conquer him when life fails him, alongside others I run on my way here."

Nahiri looked approval. " _Excellent_ job, Miss Masquerade, you've outdone yourself this time." Nahiri turned around and slithering through the floor, she said. "Work together, I want as many villains on this world as possible." Nahiri stopped and looked at both of them. "We need to get rid of the Animal Totems once and for all, they are not wonderful creatures like people say they are. They _need_ to be gone from this world." She narrowed her eyes. "I need this plan to work so _don't fail_."

Miss Masquerade and Thunder Wing nodded, and when Nahiri left, Thunder Wing turned to look at her. "You've already done your part of the job, I only need the names to corrupt them."

"Jordan Leopard, Derek and Chelsea Corbeau, Laurel Lance, Shanira Gorrion and the last and best of them all, Hope Cassé." Miss Masquerade looked at Thunder Wing maliciously. "For the last one I want you to wait a few years, I want Catboy, or as you know him, Yaotl," That name seemed to spark hatred in Thunder Wing as he shot momentarily lightning bolts from his eyes and hands."To watch him suffer and not be able to do anything about it. He _deserves_ that, him and all of his stupid friends." She snarled.

Thunder Wing curled his lip in disgust. "Let me guess, Quetzalli and Cuetzpalli followed him to this life."

Miss Masquerade nodded. "Yes, though Quetzalli goes by the name of Owlette now, and Cuetzpalli goes as Gekko." Her pendant glowed ominously. "I will help you take them down, I want them as gone as much as you, they ruined my life, especially Cuetzpalli."

Thunder Wing smiled satisfied. "Nahiri was right, we're more alike than I thought." He extended a hand. "It's time to get rid of _The Founders_ ," He said. Miss Masquerade took his hand and shook it, an evil smile decorated her face and her violet eyes glowed maliciously. She nodded.

"It's time to kill the _PJ Masks_."


End file.
